


Against All Odds

by Chandrillan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 3rd book, Angst, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Consensual Underage Sex, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Hogwarts student - Freeform, Love, Moony - Freeform, Older Man/Younger Woman, Professor Remus Lupin, Professors, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Romance, Sexual Tension, Sirius Black is a Little Shit, Slow Burn, Slytherin lead, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Smut, Teacher-Student Relationship, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter), Top Remus Lupin, Wizarding World (Harry Potter), no beta we die like men, they don't like each other at first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 66,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27420346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chandrillan/pseuds/Chandrillan
Summary: As the new school year starts, Olivia has only one thing in mind : make the best of her final year at Hogwarts. Secret parties, firewhisky and magic, she is ready to create memories that last a lifetime. But it seems that the new DADA teacher, Remus Lupin, is not fond of her, and the feeling is mutual. But she will not let anything cross her.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Original Female Character(s), Remus Lupin/Other(s)
Comments: 176
Kudos: 295





	1. Stranger

**Chapter One :**

* * *

"Olivia, I need to go. Can I leave you here ?"

She looked in front of her, staring at the 9 3/4 platform wall ahead of her.

"Olivia ?" asked the voice again.

She turned her head and faced her father. Nikolas Montgomery was looking at his daughter, his watch in evidence. He was in a hurry.

"Yeah, yeah." She responded. "I'm gonna be fine. Thank you for dropping me here dad."

Nikolas smiled, putting a string of brown hair behind Olivia's ear. He gently kissed her forehead.

"Enjoy your final year sweetie", he said before waving goodbye.

Olivia waved back, a pinch in her heart. A few years ago, he would have accompanied her to the platform. He would have made sure that she was well sited in the train, and he would have gone home only when the Hogwarts express was out of his sight. She sighed. The past was the past. Now, his job at the ministry was more important. And her father was right, it was her final year. She wasn't going to let anything ruin it, or anyone.

She looked back to the wall.

"Let's go." she whispered to herself.

Olivia tightened her grip on her trolley, and ran into the wall. A few seconds later, she was on the other side, among many other students and parents. She always hated the feeling that went into her skin when she crossed. It made her heart hurt. But today, realizing that it was the last time she would do it, it also made her sad. The school year hasn't even begun, and she was already emotional. This school year was going to be something, she could tell.

After putting her suitcase and all of her stuff away, Olivia tried to find some of her friends on the platform, without success.

"Where is everyone for god's sake."

She then tried to find them directly on board, searching through the wagons. She saw many familiar faces, some of them kindly proposing her to sit with them. They were nice, but Olivia knew that she wanted to be a precise group, so she declined. Olivia stopped her search when the train announced the departure, defeated. Was she really going to start her final year without her friends ? The trip to Hogwarts was such an experience. Reuniting with friends, catching up, playing exploding snap, and just sharing the excitement of the new school year. She was pissed, it was not supposed to be this way.

She finally settled in an empty wagon at the end of the train, or she thought. Someone was curled up in a corner, sleeping.

 _Great,_ she thought, _instead of my friends, I have that ? A homeless man ?_

She hesitated a moment, maybe she could walk back and at least be with some acquaintances. But then the train started moving, and she went to sit across the man.

"Fuck me..."

There was nothing to do in there, she didn't even think of bringing a book with her. She had other plans for the trip. Her eyes fell on the person in front of her.

As she thought, the man was asleep, curled up in his dark coat. His face was partly hidden by his hair, falling before his eyes. He was not a student ; his light brown hair had a few grey streaks in it, so he was older. Apart from the trolley witch and once the driver, she didn't recall ever seeing an adult on board. Olivia frowned her eyes at the sight of what seemed to be scars on his face. Not just one, but a few crossing his face. The man must have lived some traumatic experiences.

Olivia was going to stop staring at him, because she knew how awkward it would be if he suddenly woke up and saw a complete stranger looking at him. But then, his eyes twitched. She probably would have missed it if she was not focused on him. It could mean having nothing, really. It was nothing. What if he was simply having a bad dream ? But, a simple question finds its way into Olivia's mind.

_What if he was not asleep ?_

Oh, damn that would be embarrassing. She just spent five minutes studying him. Should she say something to see if he was really asleep ? But before she could open her mouth to talk, the door of the wagon opened.

"Liv, here you are !"

Standing at the door, a big smile on her lips was Clara, Olivia's best friend.

Olivia stood up, and jumped in her arms. They both laughed at the demonstration of affection. They squeezed each other tightly, happy to see each other after only seeing once this summer. She noticed that Clara's hair was now purple, and nodded in appreciation. It contrasted perfectly with her beautiful brown skin. Clara had the habit of changing her hair color every year.

"I've been looking all over for you !" Shouted Olivia, before remembering the "sleeping" man beside her. "Where were you ?"

"Andrew, Oliver and I were waiting for you on the platform, we thought you missed the train !"

Olivia let a little laugh.

"I was looking for you inside, Olivia explained, "I thought you were the one that was late !"

They both smiled at each other, then Clara took her hand and led her out of the wagon.

"Come on, the others are waiting for us."

She picked up her wand she left on her seat. On her way out she looked one last time in the direction of the stranger. He did not move an inch. Maybe he was truly asleep. Maybe he was a great actor.

_Guess I will never know, will I ?_

* * *

Seeing her friends after months brought Olivia so much joy. She did see some of them during the summer, but it was not the same. The thought she had earlier about starting the school year without them disappeared and now everything was going well.

Oliver was talking with Clara about the upcoming quidditch season, and how it was his last chance to win the cup for the Gryffindor team. Clara was not really listening, more focused on the daily prophet and the article talking about the escape of Sirius Black.

Andrew was sitting in the seat across Olivia, their shoes pushing against each other playfully.

"So..." Andrew started. "Are you going to continue playing quidditch this year ?"

Oliver turned to look at Olivia interested, while Clara looked up from her paper..

"Well," she hesitated "I don't know yet. With N.E.W.T and stuff, I don't know if I will have time."

Andrew looked at her, his usual charming smile on his face.

"What ?" Olivia asked.

"Liv... Come on. It's our final year, you should enjoy it fully. Don't have any regrets."

"And I really want to have another Oliv & Oliv face off this year." Joked the captain of the Gryffindor team.

They all laughed at the mention of the nickname that Lee Jordan gave them last year when they were playing against each other.

"Sure, if you want your ass beat once again Wood, I cannot refuse the offer."

Oliver's mouth opened wide, jokingly shocked.

"Get ready to lose Montgomery," he snapped back.

Soon after, the whole wagon was laughing and Olivia was happy. They all were.

But then they weren't anymore. They all felt it. The happiness they all felt a second ago disappeared. No, it was more like it was sucked out of their body. The feeling was awful. A shiver went into Olivia's spin.

"Why does it feel so cold all of the sudden ?" Asked Clara.

"What the heck is happening ?" continued Andrew when they noticed that the train fully stopped.

Olivia stood up, soon followed by Andrew. They opened the wagon door to look into the hallway only to find that many other students had the same idea, and a small crowd started to merge together.

Chatter and worries started to fill the hallway when suddenly, a bright light arose from a wagon at the end of the train. The flash made everyone close their eyes or turn their head.

Was it the one I was before ? Thought the brown haired girl when she opened her eyes again.

"What happened ?" asked Clara, still inside the wagon with Oliver.

Before anyone could answer, the trolley witch clapped her hands and asked everyone to calm themselves and to go back to their seat. She explained that everything was fine and that Dumbledore would explain everything later.

Not really convinced, but not wanting to get on her bad side, everyone did what she asked. Soon after, the Hogwarts express started moving again, but the high spirit of before was no more.

Andrew played with his black hair for a bit, then broke the awkward silence.

"So... Who is up for a game of exploding snap ?"

They all agreed, thanking him silently for moving on. Olivia looked at him, a little smile on her lips. She was grateful he was here.

Clara moved closer to Olivia, putting her head on her shoulder. They knew that what happened was unusual, and that it was probably only the start of a weird school year. Both girls looked at each other, mutually understanding the apprehension the other was feeling.

As Oliver and Andrew started to prepare the game, Liv caught something moving in the corner of her eyes. The stranger from earlier just passed in front of the wagon. She recognized his dark coat. He didn't stop, he did not notice her following his figure as he walked. The only thing that Olivia had time to notice is that he was way taller than she expected. Six feet, maybe even taller ? She would not have thought when she saw him in his seat before.

_Who is he ?_

The thought quickly went away as Andrew snapped his finger to make her notice that the game started.

* * *

As always, the first feast in the Great Hall was amazing, magical in every way. The older students enjoyed the feeling of coming back to their second home, to see their friends and to eat as much of this delicious food as they could, but Olivia particularly enjoyed seeing the sparkle in the eyes of the new first year. They were all amazed by the castle and how magic was surrounding them. For some of them, it was probably the first time they even saw magic in action.

Liv was like them on her first day. His father never hid his magic, but in case her daughter was like her mother, a muggle, he did not want to get her hope up. And when she finally received her letter to Hogwarts, the whole family was relieved. Her mom was so excited for her, even if magic was not a part of her world.

When she took a step in the great hall for the first time, Olivia hurt her eyes trying not to blink, afraid that everything would disappear if she stopped looking. Then she got sorted in Slytherin, and her life as a student of Hogwarts really started.

Clara and her clapped loudly every time a new student got sorted in Slytherin, welcoming them on the table of the ambitious. They were nervous, and finding friendly faces as they joined the table they would share for years was always relaxing. Liv was still grateful for the older student that did the same seven years ago.

When the sorting was finally over, Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome!" He said, the candlelight shimmering on his beard

The headmaster then explained what happened on the train. Dementors searched the Hogwarts express in hope to find the infamous Sirius black, and they were to stay at every entrance to the grounds of Hogwarts. Every student had to be careful and follow the rules.

Liv locked eyes with Andrew, sitting at the Gryffindor table next to Oliver. He said something that she didn't get at first, and had to narrow her eyes to read his lips.

"I don't care", she understood, and she chuckled on his rebellious behavior. He was right, they won't let some punk ghost ruin all their plans.

"On a happier note," Dumbledore continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill in the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

All the eyes turned to the man who stood up next to Professor McGonagall. Not many clapped, mainly some Gryffindor.

"Oh," blurted Olivia, which surprised Clara.

"What ? Oh, he was with you on the wagon with you wasn't he ?"

"Yeah, I think it was him. I didn't expect this man to be our new teacher."

"Why ?" Wondered Clara."

"Well, not to be mean, but he looks kinda... shabby ?"

Clara hit her softly on the shoulder, while Liv laughed.

"You Ass," she simply said.

Then, Dumbledore announced that Hagrid was the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher. This time, the whole hall cheered, except for a few students at the end of the Slytherin table. Everyone loved Hagrid, he was the kindest man alive.

The white bearded wizard finished his speech, and soon, the hall was filled with laughter and the clatter of knives and forks.

Olivia's eyes wandered to the teacher table and locked eyes with Hagrid. She raised her cup in congratulation. She knew he was going to be great. He raised his in return, a big smile on his lips.

Talking about a charming smile, a few chairs to the left of the giant, Snape was looking even more vehement than ever. It was no secret that the DADA post was wanted by the head of the Slytherin house for years, but Liv doesn't remember him making such a terrifying face when it was Lockhart standing next to him. It seemed that Professor Lupin was not his cup of tea.

_I can't wait to know why._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the first chapter ! I surely enjoyed making it. I'm not a native English speaker, so if there is any typos please tell me :)


	2. Not a great start

Chapter Two

* * *

“He should have been here, like what…? Twenty minutes ago ?”

All eyes turned to Oliver, who just stated the obvious. 

Standing in front of the Defence against the dark arts classroom, the seventh years students were starting to lose their patience. It was understandable. It was the second day of class, and the last lesson of the day. All students were already tired by everything N.E.W.T related, and were just longing to find their way back to the dorm. 

“This year was supposed to be different,” complained Olivia.

DADA was one of the rare classes where the whole group of friends was together. But, it seemed that every year, the teacher of this topic decided to ruin this special occasion. 

“Do you think he’s already going to break the record ?” Andrew asked, a smile on his lips.

“What are you talking about ? '' Questioned Clara, leaning against a wall.

“Well, we all know that this position is…” he paused. “How to say it nicely ? Cursed ?”

Liv smirked at him, understanding where he was going. The new expression on her friend's face made Clara realize. 

“Andrew, you are not saying…”

“Okay guys,” cut Oliver, “I love you all. But I would love you even more if you would be kind enough to simply explain your point, because I'm lost right now. 

They all smiled at the intervention of the quidditch captain.

“Andrew is saying that the new teacher might be already gone,'' explained Clara, hitting the shoulder of the black-haired Gryffindor on the way. 

“No but seriously,” added Andrew, his hand on his wounded shoulder. “How long do you think this one is gonna last? “

“Don’t be rude, you're gonna bring him misfortune”, insisted Clara.

Her intervention brought silence in the friend group, while the other students were chattering around them.

“I think he’s gone before Easter.”

Olivia broke the silence, a smirk on her face. Clara rolled her eyes at the behavior of her best friend. Andrew smiled back and leaned toward her. 

“You guys wanna bet ?”

He first looked at Clara, who simply dismissed him with her hand. Oliver took a minute to weigh the pros and cons but finally declined. Andrew finally looked at the Slytherin beside him. 

“You are in Montgomery ?”

He put his hand forward, and Olivia shook it.

“15 galleons that the teach is gone before Easter”

They both smiled at each other, loving the complicity they had. Maybe too much, because none of them noticed the man standing behind them.

“Can I bet too ?”

Olivia had to refrain from cursing. Professor Lupin was standing just behind her, an indescribable look on his face. After successfully startling the group of friends, he simply opened the door of his class to let the students enter. Clara went first, and the other followed quietly. Andrew and Olivia looked at each other, amused by the fact that they got caught like children. 

When everyone was inside, he closed the door with a little movement of his hand. 

_Wandless magic ?_ Realized Olivia _. Show off._

The class had changed a little from last year. No more portraits of the blond haired teacher, and weirdly there was no chair or desk.

Professor Lupin clapped his hand, and everyone looked at him. 

“Hello students,” he started, leaning on his desk. “As you all know, I’m your new defence against the dark art teacher. I am well aware that this course had many… difficulties those past years.”

Students laughed discreetly, remembering how chaotic this course has been over time. 

“I tried to consult your former teacher, Mr Lockhart, to have information over what you studied last year, but…” he paused. ”Let’s just say it was unsuccessful.”

Olivia glanced at Clara. They both remembered how awful of a teacher Lockhart was. Hot, for sure, but very ineffective. When he was not spending the whole lesson talking about himself or absent because of a book related business, they only learned like three spells from him. Sure, most of them tried to progress on their own, but it was hard to learn alone.

“So,” continued Lupin, “We will spend the first lessons practising all sorts of things, so I can get a grip on everyone’s level. I actually prepared a class for the third year, but then I realized it would be interesting if each year worked on it. Some of you might be familiar with it.” 

He turned to the wardrobe in the back of the class. 

“The boggart.”

They all turned to look at their first assignment while Professor Lupin took time to explain what a boggart was.

Olivia sighed. They weren't third years any more, they all knew what a Boggart was : shape-shifters that took the shape of a person's worst fear. But maybe she sighed a bit too loudly, because many faces were now looking at her. Including the brown haired teacher. He crossed his arm, looking at her.

“Do I bore you miss…?”

“Montgomery,” answered the Slytherin. “Olivia Montgomery.”

“Well, miss Montgomery, answer the question. Do I bore you ?”

Liv hesitated. She took a quick look at Clara, who was silently asking her what she was doing. Her eyes went back to lock with Lupin’s, who was still waiting for an answer. 

“Well, if I must be honest, kinda ?” She casually answered. 

While some shocked sounds ran through the assembly, Oliver and Andrew had to find the strength to retain a surprised chuckle, while Clara prayed to Merlin that Liv did not actually say that. 

Professor Lupin did not move, but his eyes twitched, as to guess if she was being serious with him. 

“I'm sorry ?” He simply asked with a surprised tone.

“Not that working on boggart is not interesting, it’s great… When you are a _third year_.” She insisted on those last words. “You said it yourself, your predecessors were not great, they made us fall behind on the program. We all wish to be able to take our N.E.W.T without being worried to get TROLL marked all over our paper. Boggart is a subject for third year, not for us.”

Olivia thought this was the end for her, but some students discreetly approved with what she said, her friends included. Maybe this is why she was not sent directly to Flinch's office.

The new DADA teacher shook his head. 

“It’s a good argument I concede, but unfortunately I am the teacher, and you are not. So I still decide what subject you will take with me, without having to explain my choices to you, or anyone.” 

He took a break so everyone understood what he was implying. With two phrases, the new DADA teacher made everyone understand that even with his approachable personality, he was the one in charge. 

“So, miss Montgomery, since it's a subject that seems to be beneath you, I suppose you will have no trouble giving me the banishing spell for the boggart ?”

Olivia did not answer directly, and Lupin took it as her response. He was going to start his lesson again when he was again interrupted by the Slytherin.

“It’s riddikulous sir _.”_

Olivia knew that, because she actually faced one when she was a third year, with some of her peers. At the time, her boggart was a terrifying clown from a muggle film she saw with her mother. Today, she was certain it would be something different, and she wasn't sure she would like to face it.

Lupin simply nodded, and switched his attention to the rest of the class. With a smile he finally went on with his lesson, putting the altercation in the past. But any student with an observation skill would have noticed that his smile was not as big as it was before.

He asked the students to form a line to face the boggart, in which Liv put herself at the bottom. If she was lucky, time would run out, and she wouldn't have to participate. In front of her was Clara, and at the second that the first student faced the boggart, she turned to Olivia. 

“Liv, what the hell ?” She whispered. “Did you really have to do that on our first day with him ?”

“I just answered his question,” explained Olivia.

“You know you went too far… you know it.”

Olivia shrugged. She only said what she thought. 

“The bet, and then that ?” Clara sighed. “He already has two reasons not to like you. Try to be discreet from now on, please.”

Olivia nodded to calm her worried friend, and the two of them looked ahead. One by one, the students faced their fear. Many of them had common fears, like spiders, or ghosts. Some were unusual, like Andrew, who faced an unknown old wizard that nobody on the group friend knew about. He didn't seem to be surprised, and casted the counter spell perfectly. Oliver faced his fear of failure in a way that only him truly seemed to understand. And with the blink of an eye, it was time to wrap the class up. 

“Well, it took a bit longer than expected,” announced Lupin, quickly posing his eyes on Olivia. “Those who did not have time to do it, please stay a bit longer, it won't be long. The other one, I will see you next week.“

The two Slytherin friends and another Gryffindor made a big sigh. Everyone else happily left the room. Andrew and Oliver kindly smiled at their friends before leaving.

Lupin directly made the Gryffindor face the boggart, and soon after it was Clara’s turn. Her boggart was herself suffocating, not being able to breath. Clara had asthma when she was younger, Olivia knew that, but not that it was still something impacting her life on a daily basis. Clara did hesitate, but in a beautiful spell, she made it disappear.

“Miss Montgomery, your turn,” announced Professor Lupin.

The Gryffindor left after his turn, and now only Clara was in the room with them. 

_I can do it._

She took a few steps to be in position and raised her hand. 

_I can do it._

“I can't do it,” she confessed, putting her wand back in the pocket of her robe.

Lupin looked at her, a disapproved look on his face. Olivia turned at her friend, who was looking concerned.

_Sorry Clara, I just added a new reason for him not to like me. Things come in threes, as the saying goes, right ?_

Olivia thought that he was probably surprised that after all this talk, she was quitting now. If he was, he did not say anything about it though. 

“Class dismissed, you can go,'' he said, turning his back to the girls. 

He did not say goodbye, and neither did they. 

As they walked into the hallway, Clara put her arm around Liv's shoulder to bring her closer.

“You know if you had just been nicer to him, you could have just told him why you couldn't do it. I'm sure he would have understood.”

Liv looked at her friend, silently thanking her for not bringing the actual sensible topic in the conversation. 

“You think so ?” She mocked. “He really doesn't seem to like me.”

“Just stop giving him reasons not to,” Clara stated in reference of all the things that happened in only one lesson.

“I don't really care,” declared Olivia. “I don't like him either.”

“You only met him !” Tried to argue Clara. “Everyone else that had class with him loved him ! Give him a chance, I'm sure you will grow fond of him.”

_I'm pretty sure I won't._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the beginning of a complicated relationship...


	3. Early Bird

Chapter Three

* * *

In a heartbeat, the first week of class flew by. The first years were settling in, and the seventh years were already discouraged by all the homework they already had in such a short period of time. 

“You need to prepare for the N.E.W.T,” were repeating all the teachers.

So, the first weekend of the year was welcomed by all. 

On this Saturday morning, Olivia surprised herself by waking up before anyone else in her dorm. A quick look at the muggle watch on her night stand informed her that it was only seven in the morning, and she seriously considered going back to sleep. But the perspective of having the bathroom just to herself definitively woke her up.

She discreetly grabbed her stuff, making sure not to wake up Clara and Mia, who were sharing a dorm with her, and jumped in the bathroom. About twenty minutes later, she was ready to leave. She picked up her wand and some homework she needed to give to Snape, then exited the Slytherin dungeon. 

She made her way to the great hall, where only a few early birds were peacefully enjoying their breakfast. To her surprise, she recognized a black haired Gryffindor and headed his way. 

“Why are you up so early ?” She asked Andrew as she seated in front of him.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of Olivia, the boy almost spilled his cup of tea.

“Shit, you scared me,” he confessed, making Liv smile. “I could ask you the same by the way.”

“I just woke up early, and thought that I could enjoy some breakfast without constant background noise.”

The Gryffindor nodded.

“Same.”

Olivia served herself a glass of milk, then looked to the teacher’s table. 

“Snape is not here?” She inquired as the potion teacher usually enjoyed the calm and quiet of dawn.

“Haven't you heard ? Giggled Andrew. The Weasley twins decided it would be funny to cast a charm on his robes to make them pink. He must still be in his living quarter trying to turn them black.”

Olivia couldn't contain her laughter at the image of her teacher wearing the said robes. 

“I love those kids,” she said as she took a bit of her toast. “They really are getting more creative every year.”

“They also are getting more detention every year,'' added Andrew with a smile. 

“Hey”, began the Slytherin “If I had the same mind and chaotic energy they have, I would not waste it either. “

“Don't say that as if we never pulled some great pranks.” He said leaning back on his chair with a smile. “Don’t worry Liv, I'm sure the teachers are going to remember some of them even in a few years.”

“True,” she simply responded as she recalled all the times they did something that Dumbledore would not have approved of. “We did have some good times”

Andrew gently pushed her across the table.

“Stop talking as if we were already out of Hogwarts ! We are going to make the best of this year, you'll see !”

Her mouth curved into a smile. The whole group friend knew how the end of their time in this school made her anxious and nostalgic. She was grateful to have them, they always knew how to cheer her up.

“You know, sometimes, I wish that we would have been all sorted in the same house. We could have so many other memories that we never got to make.”

“Don't act like you never sneaked in another common room before,” teased Andrew.

She hit him in the leg. 

“You know that’s not what I mean stupid !”

They both cackled.

“I know, I know, he said when they stopped.

All the friend group regretted that they never got to be in the same house for seventh years. But now, they couldn't do much to change that, except enjoying each other's presence the best way they could. A little silence tried to make his way between the two friends but Andrew revived the conversation. 

“By the way, what did you decide to do for quidditch ? The inscriptions ended yesterday if I recall correctly.”

Olivia took a sip of her drink, making the boy wait. She put down her glass and looked in her friend’s eyes. 

“You have in front of you one of the main chasers of the Slytherin team !”

“I knew it,” Andrew exclaimed. 

“You do realize it means you will have to cheer for me instead of Oliver ?”

He raised his eyebrows.

“And why would I do that ? I'm loyal to my house you know.”

Olivia pushed her hair behind her shoulder in an exaggerated movement. 

“Simply because I'm better looking.”

Olivia expected him to laugh with her, or maybe to gently push her. To her surprise, he put his head between his hands to seriously look at her.

“Yes you are.”

Liv hoped her cheeks did not turn pink to the obvious flirty response of her friend. Since last year, both of them started to be a bit more forward with each other. It seemed that this year would be no different, to the pleasure of the Slytherin. 

“You are not too bad yourself,” she added with the same tone.

They looked into each other's eyes in a comfortable silence, only to get interrupted by the captain of the Gryffindor team. 

“What are you talking about ?” He simply asked as he sat down next to Andrew. 

More and more people were coming into the great hall.

“Nothing really,” quickly blurted Olivia. “Just about the old times, how we both met… This kinda thing !”

She glanced at Andrew who confirmed her little lie. 

“Oh yeah, I remember,'' said Oliver with his mouth already full. “You both met during the first quidditch match of the third year right ?”

“Yes, the one where we beat your ass,” mocked the Slytherin.

Four years ago, the first ever real match of Olivia and Oliver ended with the serpents winning. Liv was euphoric, and as soon as they were all off their broom, she ran to the side of Wood to rub in her victory. The two of them were childhood friends, knowing each other due to their fathers working together at the time. But when she got to him that day, he was accompanied by a black haired friend that was here to cheer him on.

“I also remembered that you told me that you didn't like her at first,” Oliver said, turning to Andrew.

“Did he ?” Commented Olivia a smirk on her lips as she faced the embarrassed Gryffindor.

“Well…” The concerned hesitated. “At first I didn't understand that you knew each other, I thought you were just a Slytherin… Being a Slytherin, you know ?”

Oliver laughed while Liv rolled her eyes. Andrew regained his composure and with a wink, he said :

“Don't worry Liv. Now, I do really like you.”

This time, her cheeks probably turned pink, cause Oliver said with a false disgusted face :

“Hugh. Just get a room you two.”

They all laughed, and went on with another conversation. Liv finally finished her plate then looked around her to notice that the great hall was filling up. She stood up and the two Gryffindor looked at her.

“I need to give Snape an extra test he asked me to do,” she said while grabbing the said paper on the table. “See you later !”

Her friends waved goodbye, and as she walked out of the room, she saw the missing piece of their group walking in.

“Sorry I woke up early, I ate already. Right now I have to give something to Snape,'' she explained to Clara before she could even ask. “The guys are inside, I’ll catch up later!”

Clara just had time to assimilate the information that Olivia already disappeared into another corridor. 

* * *

“Sir ?” She knocked on the door of the potions' classroom. “It’s Olivia.”

She really hoped he was in here. She really didn't want to go try his private apartment. The Slytherin did once in second grade and Snape was furious she dared invade his privacy. Olivia sighed in relief when she heard a voice on the other side of the door.

“You can come in Miss Montgomery.”

She pushed the door to enter the room. She shivered as the cold of the dungeons attacked her skin. 

_I should have brought a jumper,_ she thought as she looked for the teacher. 

Severus Snape was standing in a corner of a room, working on a potion. Olivia noticed the fact that he was wearing his black robes as usual. She did hope to catch him wearing the result of the twins’ prank. 

_A girl can dream._

She approached her teacher and watched him work. Suddenly, the potion he was preparing turned blue, and a faint smoke of the same colour dissipated itself in the hair. 

“Are you making _Draught of Peace ?”_ Tried the student.

He glanced at her before putting a lid on the cauldron.

“Not quite, but an interesting guess Miss Montgomery.” He simply responded as he walked to his desk.

Olivia did not insist and followed him. She put the paper she was holding on his desk.

“Here is the test you asked me to do the other day.”

Snape looked at the paper, surprised.

“Already ?”

“You said the sooner, the better,” explained the Slytherin.

“It better be perfect” he insisted with a severe voice.

“It is.”

Olivia was confident in her competence. Potion was her favourite subject, and she put her soul on this exam. The head of the Slytherin house looked at his student. He almost smiled at the known confidence of Olivia. She knew she was good, and she didn't hide it. Even him recognized that she has a talent in potion making.

“Can I know why you asked me to do it ?” Demanded Olivia as she was the only one of her class that Snape gave the assignment to. 

“Only when I made sure that it’s as perfect as you say.”

“So soon I guess “, she said with a smile.

Snape did not respond to her joke, dismissing her with a movement of his hand. 

“Wait Miss Montgomery,” he remembered before she walked out. “I heard from some students that you questioned the methods of a staff member the other day.”

Olivia hesitated. There was no point in lying about it. Snape was probably going to take some house point for her impertinence.

“I did,” she answered.

Snape looked at her.

“You can go.”

Olivia left the classroom, surprised by the fact she was not reprimanded. She was not complaining though. She looked at Snape one last time as she walked away, and her jaw almost dropped.

If she didn't know her teacher better, she would have said he was smiling right now.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

* * *

Olivia had just finished putting on her green uniform when  Marcus Flint burst into the changing room. Lucky for him, Mia and Liv were done changing, or he would have been hexed out of here. As the only two girls of the Slytherin team, they had a dozen of minutes for themselves before the boy’s turn. 

“We have a problem !” He shouted as he opened the door.

“What is it ?” Worried Mia as she put her blonde hair into a short ponytail. 

The three of them were the older students of the team, and even if Marcus was the captain, they always took the decisions together. 

He asked someone who was still outside to join them, and Draco Malfoy entered the place. The two girls immediately noticed his injured arm. Olivia approached him.

“What happened ?” 

The third year explained that it was the fault of Hagrid and his “stupid” monster, which made him received a bad look from the brown haired girl.

“I don't think his arm will be better on time for the first match,” explained the captain.

“Even if it is, he won't have time to practice enough,” added Mia. 

“No need to panic,” calmed Liv. “We must have a few reserve players on the bench who wish to play as seekers.”

She glanced at Draco. It was no secret that he got the coveted place of seeker last year because of his father. She did not complain though, she loved her new fancy broom. 

“We play with one of them as a seeker,” she continued, “and when Malfoy is better, he takes his place back in the team.”

They all agreed. 

“I think Connor would be the most suited.” Marcus turned to Olivia. “But it means we won't have another chaser reserve. We better be careful.”

She nodded. Olivia was one of the main chaser of the Slytherin team for three years now, as Marcus, and she never missed a match. 

Now that the issue was resolved, the two girls left the changing room as their male teammates entered to prepare themselves for practice. Malfoy returned to the castle, unhappy to be put aside. 

As they waited, Mia informed Olivia of a rumour going on. It seemed that a player of the Ravenclaw team heard two staff members talking about inviting some recruiter for the final of the quidditch cup this year. Liv wondered if Oliver knew it. 

_ If he heard about it, he probably fainted.  _

* * *

After almost two intense hours of practice, the whole team was exhausted. Flying for so long was physically draining and Olivia dreamed of nothing more than a long shower. 

The guys went in the showers first, and after some small talk between Mia and Olivia, it was finally their turn. 

The water dripped down Liv’s brown hair softly and the sensation of the almost burning water on her body relaxed her muscles. She closed her eyes. It was the perfect temperature and pressure. Times didn't matter here. 

Olivia only understood she was under the water for too long when she heard Mia telling her she was leaving. Ten minutes later, she was getting dressed on the bench, alone in the room. She grabbed her Nimbus 2001 and headed out. 

It was almost time for dinner, so she began walking in the direction of the castle. Her hair was still wet, and some natural curls were starting to appear.

As she was walking the direction of her dorm to put away her broomstick, she noticed a hole in her jumper, distracting her from looking in front of her. 

A collision happened, and soon, she was on the floor. Her hair falling before her eyes, she did not recognize the person she bumped into.

“Are you okay Miss…?” Asked the voice as they offered a hand to help.

Olivia kindly accepted. The hand was warm, in opposition to the cold hand of the Slytherin. 

“Thank you.” 

She pushed a few strands of hair who were blocking her vision and discovered professor Lupin. 

_ Why him ?  _ She silently complained.

Judging by his reaction, he did not recognize her either. His worried face disappeared in seconds.

“You should watch where you go next time Miss Montgomery.” Said Professor Lupin in a cold voice. 

_ Is he really saying this was my fault ? _

She picked up her broom from the floor. 

“As should you.”

She did not let him time to respond and left the scene. 

* * *

After putting on a new top, she finally went to the great hall to sit beside Clara. The purple haired Slytherin closed the book she was reading as she took place at the table.

“Where were you ? I almost started without you.”

“Took too long in the shower. Then I bumped into the douchebag over there”, Olivia explained as she discreetly pointed to their DADA teacher. 

She explained to her friend the interaction she had earlier and Clara sighed.

“Just ignore him, don't’ make him an enemy for nothing.”

Olivia shrugged. They both started eating and the topic changed. The potion essay was due tomorrow, and Clara still hasn't finished it, making her a bit anxious.

“I let you see mine if you help me with transfiguration,” offered Olivia.

“Deal.”

When they were both done with dinner, they headed back to their dorm. Outside the great hall, the two girls met Oliver and Andrew on their way to their own common room. They talked for a bit, and Liv informed the Gryffindor player of the rumour she heard earlier. He immediately became overexcited. Andrew even had a hard time trying to convince him that he could not go practice right now as it was already dark outside. Then, the two quidditch players agreed to meet some day after class to practice together. It was a special opportunity for Oliver, and Liv wouldn't mind having professionals recognize her talent. 

Clara and Olivia worked on their homework in the common room, helping each other when one of them had difficulties. After they made sure that everything they had to do for tomorrow was done, they went to their dorm. The two girls sat on Clara’s bed, and the amber skinned girl showed the other a package her parents had sent to her this afternoon. Olivia discovered a dozen of pictures of her and Clara that they took this summer. They were not moving, as they used a muggle camera, but they were beautiful. 

Olivia had spent two weeks in July in the house of Clara maternal grandparents, in a little town two hours north of Oxford. The fun of the countryside made Olivia forget every trouble she had this summer. Clara and her had to hide to use magic, as her grandparents were muggles, unaware of the existence of wizards, but it made the whole trip even more fun. 

Clara gave her one of the pictures. It was the both of them hugging each other around a bonfire. They were both smiling and laughing. Olivia took her friend in her arms in emotion. Clara was the only reason this summer was not a total mess. Olivia put the picture on her night stand next to her mother’s watch. She looked at the timepiece a bit too much for it not to hurt, which Clara noticed. She distracted her by talking about all the memories those pictures captured. 

Soon after, Mia entered the room and the two friends invited her to join them on the bed. Soon, the discussion turned to gossiping, mainly about boys. Mia explained that she had just hit on by a fifth year as she walked down a corridor earlier, which made everyone chuckle.

“I wish I was as lucky as you,” complained the blonde Slytherin to Olivia.

The concerned raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about ?”

“I just want a good-looking guy of my age who makes me smile” she explained, “like you with Andrew.”

Clara giggled as Liv's cheeks turned pink. 

“We are not together!” She exclaimed.

“Oh shoot ! Sorry I thought so.” Mia looked at Liv in the eyes. “But, are you just friends...?”

Olivia hesitated.

“I didn't say that,” she confessed with a smile as she grabbed a pillow to hide her face.

They all laughed and Mia asked for more details. Clara knew everything already, as Olivia always told her every time something happened between the two. They ended up talking about relationships for a while. Clara explained to Mia her long distance relationship with an older Ravenclaw girl that graduated last year, and how she was impatient to see her this Christmas. They finally went to sleep, and Mia joked about her hope to dream of her future boyfriend. 

As she put her blanket over her body, Olivia looked at the picture of her and Clara and smiled. This was the kind of memories she wanted to create this year. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story so far, I'm trying my best to build something solid. I know those are short chapters, but I prefer posting more often than once a month. For those who are eager to see the relationship advance, sorry but this a slow burn, so please be patient :)


	5. 05 : Confrontation and confession

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Today was Thursday. The second Thursday of the year. And for the rest of the year, it was the day the seventh years’ Gryffindor and Slytherin had defence against the dark art in the last period.

Last night, Olivia decided to follow Clara's advice. Her school year would be so much more complicated if professor Lupin started to despise her -if he did not already. So starting today, she was going to lay low and go unnoticed. 

This time, professor Lupin arrived on time, and opened the door with his known pleasant smile. Andrew proposed Olivia to sit together, but she declined, saying that she knew they would not behave correctly if they did. He agreed and sat next to Oliver and she took a seat next to Clara in the middle of the class. Not too close, she wasn't a suck up, but not in the back either, so she could follow the lessons correctly. 

When everyone was correctly installed, Professor lupin started talking about the shield charm, writing its name on the chalkboard :  _ protego _ . 

“When cast, an invisible shield is conjured in front of the caster's wand, creating a protective barrier between themselves and their attacker,” he explained.

Lockhart was supposed to teach them this spell last year, but he obviously didn't. Olivia tried to learn it on her own, but it was more difficult that she thought. She was enthusiastic to have a chance to perfect it this year. 

“This shield can block and reflect a multitude of spells, such as most jinxes, hexes, and minor curses, as well as block physical forces,” continued the DADA teacher. “Exceptionally powerful Shield Charms are even able to knock people off their feet. However, this shield isn't completely impenetrable, as it cannot block Unforgivable Curses. We will come back to them later.”

Since last week, professor Lupin seemed to have decided to focus on a subject more suited for the seventh years, to the delight of many students, especially Olivia. Did he actually take in consideration what she said last week ?

Lupin then began teaching them about the history of the spell, talking about the theoretical part of the spell. It was less interesting, but if Olivia was right, they would practice the spell after, so she could not complain. 

Next to her, Clara was writing everything the teacher was explicating. She tried to do the same, but rapidly abandoned. She would ask Clara’s notes later. Instead, she looked at the teacher in front of her. 

Like ten days ago in the Hogwarts Express, she started detailing him. Like she thought, he was tall. Around 6’2 if she had to guess. He was wearing a blue jumper with a white shirt underneath, but his sleeves were rolled up. On his arm, scars similar to the ones he had on his face and neck. Again, the question of how they got there troubled Olivia. Maybe he would tell them later this year.

He surely was passionate about the subject of his teaching. He loved to insist on little details, taking time to explain why the fall of Edmund Gaddlegate was the cause of the creation of the spell. Was teaching DADA his dream as a kid ? What did he do before coming to Hogwarts ? Olivia realized that unlike Lockhart last year, Lupin did not share many things about his life. 

The Slytherin went back to his physical appearance. After hesitating a few times, she decided he was around his mid thirties. She focused on his eyes. From where she was seated, she couldn’t see them clearly, but they seemed more green than brown. 

But as she tried to make her mind on their colour, his eyes found hers. 

“Miss Montgomery.” The whole class turned to her as he stopped the lesson. “ I did understand last time that my class did not interest you, but could you at least pretend ?”

Liv's face paled. She wasn't doing anything wrong.

“I am paying attention sir,” she replied.

“You are ?” He asked with a noticeable sarcasm in his voice as he approached her desk. He pointed out her almost empty paper. “It doesn't seem like that to me.”

Olivia was sure she was not the only one who didn’t note everything. Was he doing that only to embarrass her ? 

“Next time don't lie,” he added, which made her feel even worse. He turned to the rest of the students. “I won't accept this kind of behaviour in my class.”

Olivia looked at Clara, who seemed to be as lost as she was. 

“Ten points from Slytherin,” he concluded with a bad look in her direction, and it was the last straw.

_ Who does he think he is ? _

Lupin was going back to the front of the class to resume the lesson when he heard someone moving behind him. He turned to discover the Slytherin picking up her books. 

“Where do you think you’re doing ?” He demanded severely as she was collecting her stuff. 

“I’m leaving,” Olivia responded, determined.

Some students whispered, unsure if the Slytherin was serious right now. Clara tried to pull her back on her chair, in vain.

“I’m sorry ?” He asked as if what she said was impossible.

She walked the few steps that separated her from the door before facing her teacher, taking the time to look him in the eyes.

“No need to apologize sir.”

Olivia quickly opened the door and left. She guessed that professor Lupin was too shocked by what just happened to follow her. She thanked Merlin it was the case, because she was not ready to face him again right now. She sprinted into a different corridor in case he changed his mind, then into another one, and she soon ended up on the other side of the castle. 

Liv leaned against the wall, and finally breathed. She was not a perfect student, she never has been. Sure, she had been impertinent before, but always for fun, and the teachers were used to her behaviour, sometimes even joking with her. But today, Olivia knew she crossed a line. She did not regret it though, professor Lupin had no business acting as he did when she did nothing wrong. 

_ Sorry Clara, _ she finally thought,  _ seems like the school year will be more complicated than we thought. _

* * *

Olivia spent the rest of the class in the library. She thought about just laying in her bed for the rest of the day, but decided to work on some homework instead. In a way, she knew it was futile to so, because in any minutes, professor Lupin would be in Dumbledore's office asking him to fire her. She didn't know how she was going to explain what she did to the Headmaster. 

She thought about the face his father would make when his owl would bring him the news that his daughter was expelled after not even a month. What would she do ? The news would obviously cause harm to her future. Who would hire her after that ? Maybe she could find a muggle job. She used to be a waitress for a summer, maybe she could do it again. 

Olivia sighed. Class had finished for almost an hour now, and it was almost time for dinner. Why hasn't Madam Pince told her that Dumbledore was waiting for her in his office already? Maybe the white haired wizard was going to send Filch instead. She hated the guy. Her eyes were focused on the door instead of the herbology book in front of her. 

_ What's taking them so long ? _

She waited a dozen of minutes, but still nothing. Maybe Dumbledore would announce her dismissal of Hogwarts at dinner, in front of everyone. If he did, it would be so embarrassing. It wasn't the style of the headmaster but who knows ? 

The library started to empty itself as the students were heading to the great hall for dinner. Olivia would have probably stayed here if Madam Pince wasn't staring at her, her piercing look saying “I want to eat too”. So she stood up, and left the library. 

Should she just go to her dorm room and miss dinner ? Her stomach disapproved at this thought. Maybe she could just go into the kitchen later. But if it was her last night here, the thought of going home without eating this delicious food made up her mind. 

Liv walked into the great hall, and tried to go unnoticed among the students who just got there. She finally arrived at the Slytherin table where Clara had kept a seat next to her.

When she took place, she faced the disapproved look of her friend. Around them, a few students looked at her, some of them even giving her a thumbs up. The whole grade seemed to know already. 

“I know I should not have done it '' began Olivia before her friend could start her reproach. “But he was being totally unfair, tell me you agree.”

Clara put her hand on Liv’s shoulder.

“Don't worry, I'm with you on this one. He was obviously targeting you.” 

Olivia smiled in relief, and was going to start filling her plate when Clara's eyes opened widely. 

“Shit”, she gasped.

Olivia turned on the bench to see what caused her friend to curse, and she immediately understood. 

At the staff table, Professor Lupin just stood up, his eyes fixed on the Slytherin. He probably noticed her arrival in the crowd. He began to walk in the direction of the serpent's table. 

Before Olivia could decide what to do, Clara grabbed her hand. 

“My god Olivia !” She shouted loudly enough so everyone in the room could hear. “I forgot to post a letter ! Let's go to the owlery before it's too late !”

The great hall fell silent, everyone staring at them, including the teachers. Olivia looked at her friend puzzled, before understanding what she was doing ; she was saving her ass. Even Lupin stopped walking as the unexpected scene going on before his eyes.

“Yeah Clara !” Olivia shouted back. “We should go now !”

They probably looked like two terrible comedians repeating a Shakespeare piece. Good thing that none of them was pursuing an actor career.

They quickly walked in direction of the exit, everyone's eyes on them. As they passed the Gryffindor table, their two friends looked at them, trying to comprehend what just happened. But they did not have time to explain. As soon as they took a step outside the room, they began running, a smile on their lips. 

Ten minutes later, they did arrive at the west tower where they finally seated at the top of the staircase. Olivia's stomach rumbled, but it was not really important right now. She thanked her friend for what just happened, knowing how Clara did not like being the center of attention.

“Don’t worry, said the purple haired Slytherin with a smile. “You did it for me many times.”

Owls were flying around them as they were trying to catch their breath. The tension finally disappeared, and they laughed at the stupidity of what just happened. 

“Liv,” started Clara, “you wanna talk about it ?”

Olivia said nothing, looking in front of her.

“I know that he went too far,” she continued, “but why did you react this way ? I had to talk to him after class to convince him not to report you to Dumbledore.” 

“What did you tell him ?'' asked Olivia a bit scared.

“Only that you were going through a complicated phase, I didn't tell him more.”

Olivia breathed loudly in relief. She really didn't want him to pity her. She put her head back, her eyes on the ceiling.

“I'm not trying to sabotage myself, if that's what you are worried about,” she explained to her friend. “It’s just that last year made me understand how time flies... And this year was supposed to be the best you know ? But it seems that’s not going to happen.”

“Stop saying that for merlin’s sake !” Shouted Clara as she took Olivia's face into her hands. We are going to enjoy this year. Don’t let one stupid altercation ruins everything.”

“But in a way, it’s already ruined,'' Olivia said as she started sobbing. 

She wasn't the kind to cry easily, but the topic made her particularly sensible. Clara took her hands in support. She knew that Liv hated talking about it. 

“She’s not here any more,” Olivia choked on a tear as sadness clouded her features.

Clara's heart shattered at the distress in the voice of her friend

“And on the other hand, Dad’s drowning himself in work and acts as if was gone too,” she confessed.

She was trying to fight back the tears, in vain. Soon, they were running down her cheeks. Clara took Olivia in her arms, hugging her tightly. 

“I'm here,” she said softly, “always.”

Olivia cried in her arms for a few minutes. Around them, the night was falling. Liv batted her lashes, trying to gain back her composure. 

“And there is him, this asshole of a teacher,” she finally continued. “I'm sure he’s going to make my year terrible.”

“Don't let him affect you. Ignore him. _ Really _ ignore him”, she insisted. “In the blink of an eye, you won't even notice he exists.”

“Yeah, I’m going to do that,” she concluded with half a smile. “Thank you… For everything.”

“Don't mention it, that's what friends are for right ?”

They both smiled and hugged each other one last time. They decided to go, not wanting to get caught breaking curfew, especially tonight. As they walked back to the castle, Liv asked with a smile : 

“Wanna go to the kitchen before going to bed ?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like writing this chapter so I hope you liked it !


	6. Sick man

**Chapter Six**

* * *

“You know, I could just go to madam Pomfrey and say that I'm hurt because of quidditch. I bet she would let me rest In the hospital wing for the rest of the day.”

Clara closed her herbology book and turned to Olivia. It was thursday, and they were walking to the north tower for their DADA class. Olivia remarkably managed to avoid their teacher since last week's episode. She went to eat early, made sure he was not in any corridor she had to pass through. She even had to hide in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom once just to make sure Lupin wouldn't see her. But she couldn't do that for the rest of the year, even if she wouldn't mind honestly. 

“You are not a little kid Olivia.” began Clara. “Just be the bigger person, and come to class with me.”

Olivia kept complaining until they reached the classroom. Everyone was already inside, and the two Slytherin got tense thinking they were late. Fortunately, only the students were inside : no sign of the teacher anywhere. 

They were settling down on their common desk when Oliver and Andrew walked to them. 

“The doors were open, so we just went in,” explained the captain of the Gryffindor team before any of them had to ask. 

“Maybe it's a trap to finally get you Liv,” joked Andrew but the concerned did not find it so funny.

Before she could respond, someone called the brown haired Slytherin from the back of the class. 

“Hey Montgomery, how are you going to make the teach’ mad today ?” Mocked a fellow Slytherin.

“Fuck off Miller,” responded Olivia with her finger up.

Before anyone else could say something more, they heard footsteps in the corridor. Quickly, they all seated at their desks like perfect little students and waited for their professor to come in. Olivia tensed up a little. She would really prefer to be with Filch right now. At least she knew what to expect with him.

But to her surprise, a nice one she might say, the professor that came into the room wasn't Lupin. Instead, in his usual black robes, Severus Snape walked to the front of the class. In effortless wand movement, he closed the window shutters, plugging the room into darkness. 

No one dared to say anything, waiting for the potions master to explain his presence. He said nothing at first, taking time to look at every student with superiority, something he loved to do. 

“Professor Lupin will not be present today, he called…  _ Sick _ ,” Snape explained. “I will be the one teaching today’s lesson.”

Some surprised chatter began, but were immediately shut down by a single severe look of the adult. 

“For today's lesson, I want you to open your book on page 394.”

In silence, everyone did what he asked. The page they opened was the beginning of the chapter about werewolves, a subject they usually learned in third year. 

_ What is up with them thinking that we are a third year ?  _ Wondered Olivia.

“You have two hours to write an essay on how to recognize a werewolf, how to defend yourself in case of an attack, and most importantly,  _ how to kill them _ ,”  emphasized the head of Slytherin. 

Everyone realized how weird it was to have to write an essay about this particular topic but no one contested. The thought didn't even cross Olivia’s mind… She was one of the rare students that Snape appreciated, and she wasn't going to do anything that could change his mind. 

The whole class began to work silently under the attentive look of their teachers. When the two hours finally went by, Clara was proud of what she'd done, hoping for a good mark. Olivia, not so much. Dark creatures weren't really her thing and her essay was mostly infos that they could find in their book. It wasn't as good as her friends, but not bad enough for her to cringe at it. 

One by one, the students gave their works to the professor before leaving class. When it was Olivia's turn, she was the last one of the class still here. Snape looked at her paper before asking her how it went. 

“ Not amazing, '' she confessed with a smile as it was weird for Snape to ask this kind of thing. “I think I could not recognize one of them if they were standing in front of me.”

The potion's professor put down the pile of paper on the desk and looked at her.

“I’m sure you are more intelligent than you think Miss Montgomery,” he finally said before dismissing her. 

Olivia said goodbye and left, shocked by the unexpected compliment. 

She didn't think much of what he was trying to imply, too happy to care. She finally joined her friends in the hallway before parting ways to change before dinners. 

* * *

The rest of the weekend flew by. Between quidditch and homework, the weekend didn't let Olivia a single moment of peace. It was only Sunday evening that she found time to breath. She spent her evening with Oliver practising and talking about their favourite quidditch teams, and the afternoon finishing a transfiguration essay that she was going to give to McGonagall right now. 

Liv found her way to the class where she was sure to find the professor, and gently knocked on the door. The door magically opened and she walked in. The head of Gryffindor was seated at her desk, watching over some students in detention. Liv recognized the Weasley twins in the back of the class, and greeted them with a smile. She was eager to know what stunning mischief had brought them here, but she was sure it would not be very well seen by the transfiguration teacher if she asked them right now.

Olivia put the reason of her presence on the desk

“Here my parchment, thank you for giving me a bit more time,” she said with a genuine smile.”

Professor McGonagall was severe, but just with every student. When Olivia went to her explaining that she did not finish the homework in time because she was overwhelmed, she understood and gave her two more days to work on it.

“Very well. I hope you understand that I will not help you every time right ? McGonagall inquired. ” I know this final year is difficult, but you have to organize better.”

“I know,” admitted Olivia. “I'm doing my best.”

The professor kindly smiled. 

“I'm sure you are.” 

Olivia was not the brightest student in transfiguration, or the more interested in the topic, but by respect for the person teaching it, she always tried to do her maximum. The head of the brave glanced at the students in detention, as to make sure no one was trying to overhear, and looked seriously at Olivia.

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” she started, but the door opened before she could finish her sentence

“Minerva,” began a tired voice, “I wanted to…”

Professor Lupin paused as he saw that she was not alone in the room, and that everyone was looking at his sudden interruption. 

“I'm sorry, I did not realize that you would have students in detention at this hour,” he said as he approached the desk. 

Lupin’s eyes widened a little as he realized that it was Olivia standing next to the transfiguration teacher. He probably did not recognize her before getting closer and seemed surprised she was there. He said nothing about what happened to the satisfaction of Olivia. She understood this week that no other staff member knew about the altercation they had last time they saw each other, and was almost thankful.

As he stood next to her, Liv realized how bad he looked. His face was pale and his eyes looked as if had not got any sleep in a week. His hands were trembling a little, like he was only able to be awake due to caffeine. Olivia even noticed a new scar on his neck that wasn't there when she wondered about them last week. 

Even her was feeling bad for him. What kind of illness did he get? Politeness was the only thing that made Olivia not take a step back in case it was contagious. 

“You can go,” indicated the older lady. “We'll talk another time.”

“Sure,” she responded wondering what the older lady might want from her. “Goodbye professor McGonagall.”

She looked at the man standing next to him, locking eyes with him.

“Professor lupin,” she finally acknowledged. 

He did not respond, looking at her in silence. The Slytherin believed she saw the shadow of a surprised look in his eyes as she walked away.

_ Did he think that I was here for detention ? _ Realized Olivia.  _ Of course, he did… But too bad for you, when I break the rules, I don't get caught.  _

After her inner comeback, she left the room, Lupin following her departure.

* * *

When the following defence against the dark art class arrived, Lupin was finally back as their teacher. He apologized for his absence, looking already much better than the last time Olivia saw him. Everyone was happy to see him instead of Snape, which brought a smile to the teacher's face. To everyone's surprise, Olivia included, nothing happened. No scene between them, no remarks, maybe only a bad look from Lupin if Liv talked a little too much with Clara, but that was it. 

Olivia was doing her best not to do anything that could make him angry and it seemed to work. The class went by as it was supposed to, and Olivia even found it interesting. The way he was teaching them how to cast spells was fun and unconventional. She wasn't going to tell anyone though, she was still pissed at him. 

When it was finally time to wrap the class up, she noticed in the corner of her eye he was going to talk to her. Olivia did not let him time to open his mouth that she was already running away, making her the first person to leave the classroom.

  
_ The less time we spend together, the better,  _ Olivia thought as she left the classroom.


	7. Under the black robes

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

“If I have to write another lines about charms today, I swear I will use the killing curse on myself”

The whole group laughed at the unexpected complaint of Olivia. She leaned back on her chair, stretching her arm in the air. The Slytherin looked around to make sure madam Pince didn't hear her mentioning an unforgivable curse so lightly. 

“You really shouldn't say things like that,” commented Clara next to her even though her lips still formed a smile. 

Clara shrugged. The essay she was working on seemed to never end. 

“I'm tired too,” added Oliver as he posed his quill down. “Break time ?”

“Break time,” repeated his fellow Gryffindor.

The four of them pushed away the homeworks they were working on in the library. On this last weekend of September, they had decided to do a little study session to decrease the pile of work they were given in only a month. When it’s going to be the N.E.W.T season, it is going to be a miracle if they didn't drown under all the parchment they would have to do.

“Ah… To be a first year taking a flying lesson for the first time,” dreamed Oliver on his chair. “Just the feeling of the wind against the skin… paradise.”

Andrew mimicked the same expression of his fellow Gryffindor. 

“To only worry about the grand staircase and how to go to classes in times”

“And how to survive Snape,” continued Olivia with a smile. “Oh, never mind you guys still don't know how to do that. “

“I still understand why you like him…” wondered Clara in response of the mockery of her friend.. “And most importantly, why does he seem to like you back”

“You think he likes me ?” Joked Liv with an exaggerated timid face. “I'm gonna blush…”

She giggled as the other looked at her with disgusted faces.

“Gross,” chuckled Andrew.

“How come on ! Don't tell me you never wondered what was hiding between those thick black robes,” insisted the brown haired Slytherin. I know you did, don’t lie to me.”

Every student in this castle probably had the thought crossing their minds at least once in their life. Snape was a mysterious man, and mystery only brought curiosity. 

“Why are you so curious ?” Asked Oliver with a grin. “Do you want him to… _ Slyther in _ ?”

The unexpected dirty joke made it impossible to refrain them for laughing loudly, making madam Pince reprimand them. 

A tear of joy rolled on Andrew’s cheek. 

“This image, it’s burning my eyes,” he laughed quietly. 

“I never want to think about that again,” Clara insisted as they calmed down… “Never.”

The purple haired Slytherin looked at her books open in front of them. 

“I should get back to it”

Olivia closed the said books before Clara could even read one line. 

“Come on, take a real break, not just two minutes. You are overworking right now, it’s not good.”

Clara looked at her best friend with a half smile. 

“I know you mean good, '' she said as she opened the books again. “But the auror training will only accept me if I have at least E in all of my N.E.W.T. I need to study.”

“Just ten minutes,” begged Liv. “Please.”

Clara sighed, sign she was giving up, and leaned back in her chair, as the others smiled. 

“Why do you work so much anyway ?” Asked Andrew. 

Clara looked in the eyes of her black haired friend.

“You know that as a muggle born, I have to work twice as much if I want to have any chance to get noticed among the others for this program,” she explained.

Olivia knew that being an Auror was Clara's dream since their second year, when the ministry came to describe the job to students. She had sparkles in her eyes when she listened to one the auror talking about his missions. It was the day she decided she never could work in the muggle word. And to this day, Clara was doing her best to fulfil her promise to herself. 

“I could never work half as much as you do,” admitted Oliver.

“Lucky for you, your grades don't matter if you get selected for a pro quidditch team right ?” asked the black haired boy next to him. 

“Yeah, but if no team accepts me, I will be in trouble.”

“Any team that dont won't want you in their line up are just stupid fool,” said Liv with a smile. 

Olivier thanked her in a laugh.

“Say that to puddlemere united. They really are  _ the _ team I wanna be a part of.”

“And you will be,” added Clara.

“If only any of you were skilled in divination…” laughed the Gryffindor. “But could you imagine ? First : Puddlemere united. I start as a reserve but get noticed in a big match. Then I become the regular keeper of the team ; people love me, kids wish to be me and all the big international team wants me. But…”

Oliver took a dramatic pause as he looked at his friends. 

“But I stay loyal to England, and enter the national team ! Then, world cup ! Of course, I don't let a single quaffle through the goal, and because of me… BOOM we are the champions ! 

They all smiled at the dream of their comrade. It was big, but they all knew he could do it. 

“It sounds amazing,” said Liv.”

Oliver turned on his chair to face her completely. 

“You know what would be amazing ?” He exclaimed. “You and me, on the same team !”

Olivia's mouth curved into a smile. The other two nodded at the idea. 

“Could you imagine, you and me, finally on the same side ?” He insisted. “We would be unstoppable”.

“We would,” she agreed. “But I don't know if i wanna play quidditch for a living.”

Oliver's smile faded. 

“So, what do you wanna do ?” Inquired Andrew.

Liv was the kind of person who always has an answer for everything. Sometimes not a bright one, sometimes just a sassy comeback to make the room laugh but also sometimes brilliant and thoughtful responses. She loved having the final say in a conversation. But every time the question was about her future, her mind would go blank. 

Olivia had hobbies. She did love quidditch and the thought of playing along with her friend was amazing. But she also loved potions, and knew how good she was at it. But she also wanted to travel and experience the world. What if she chooses the wrong path, and ends up full of regrets ? The thought made her uneasy. 

“You know I don't know,” she acknowledged. “What about you pretty boy ? 

Andrew grinned at the compliment.

“I'm gonna be a journalist”, he simply answered as if it was obvious. “But like, a Lockhart version of Rita Skeeter. I'm gonna be famous and girls will be crazy about me.”

Olivia rolled her eyes, which he didn't miss. 

“But don't worry Liv, you will always have a special place in my heart.”

The Slytherin tried to hit him under the table, but he dodged before she could.

_ He knows me too well. _

Oliver possessively put his arm around the black haired Gryffindor. 

“He’s mine, back off.” 

“I don't want him anyway, '' she answered as she went to do the same to Clara. 

Unfortunately, Clara moved away from her friend before she could grab her. 

“Hun hun, I'm not gonna be a part of… this.” she said as she pointed her finger to Olivia and Andrew.

Liv falsely sniffed, and made her puppy eyes, but Clara stood her ground. 

Once again, they all ended up laughing. And once again, Madam Pince asked them to be quiet, forcing them to go back to their study. 

But once in a while, one of them would look up from their book, and meet the eyes of the others. Each time, they all had smiles on their faces.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a short one but I really wanted to write about their friend group, I just love them.


	8. First Kiss

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

October flew by. 

Snape got back to Olivia about the test she took in the beginning of the year, explaining it was to make sure she would be good enough if she decided to work with potions in the future. And according to him, she definitely was. Liv loved how he praised her — if we can call the shadow of a smile and a thumbs up a praise. But it didn't matter, Snape was in his own way proud of her, that was enough.

When Olivia left his office that day, she dared dreaming about owning her own potion shop in diagon alley one day. Filled up with plants and rare ingredients, every wizard in the country would come by to buy her potions. What if Snape came in one day to congratulate her. “ The disciple is now better than the master,” she hoped he would say. Liv was not naive enough to believe it could ever happen due to the arrogant nature of the head of Slytherin, but dreaming about it hurt no one. 

If someone saw Liv as she walked away from the dungeons at this precise moment, they might have thought that something had happened between the professor and the student. No one was usually this happy after leaving Snape. Maybe rumours would have started again about how she managed to get on the good side of the potion master. Someone did actually ask the Slytherin if that was the case once in fifth grade, when Severus smiled in front of the class because of her. She had to explain that it was only because she made a terrible joke about Gryffindor that he weirdly liked, not because she was secretly screwing him after class. 

She found the rumour funny, and even joked about it many times, but she had to admit she would be mortified if Snape ever learned about it. 

On the other hand, the head of Gryffindor never asked her what she was supposed to last time, before they got interrupted by Lupin. She didn't mind, at least it meant she was not in any sort of trouble. 

Talking about Lupin, Olivia was surprised that he never gave her detention like he had planned to. Even though he had many occasions to do so. In return, Liv behaved correctly in class. She didn't disrespect his authority again. Obviously, she wasn't acting as the perfect little student either. But instead of giving her the famous detention when he sometimes caught her chattering around in class, he simply reprimanded her like any other student. Well, maybe a bit more harshly he would have with Clara, but she just responded with that bad look and life went on. Bad looks were actually their main source of communications when they passed each other in the castle.

When Liv didn't think about the professor teaching it, she actually enjoyed DADA now, the program was getting more and more challenging, and she wasn't feeling treated like a child any more. But it also meant that homework got harder. It was the case in almost every class she had this year. Luckily for Olivia, Clara helped and motivated her to work, so she wasn't as late as she thought she would be by now. 

Quidditch practice also got more exhausting. The first match of the quidditch cup had been announced. On the six of November the serpents would face their all-time rival ; the lions. Liv kinda wished she could play against her friend during the big final, but it was not up to them now. All they could do was practice and do their best when the day of the match would come. Whoever won, the other had to cheer them on their next match, it was the deal they made. 

Everyone at Hogwarts deserved a good rest, and only dreamed of getting out of the routine of the school year. That’s when the Ravenclaw had a great idea — they usually do. They decided to host the first party of the year next week, in their common room. Every sixth and seventh grade student was invited, but everyone knew that some younger students would probably find their way in. The second after the announcement, everyone brought out the bottles of firewhisky they sneaked into their package before the start of the school year. 

But as soon as the party was announced, as was the first hogsmeade weekend on the same day. They all agreed to party later, as a hogsmeade trip was rare enough. Olivia was excited to drink butterbeers with her friends, even more when she realized that it was on Halloween weekend. For sure, she was spending some galleons at Honeydukes. She was craving for some chocoballs.

“What are you thinking about ?” Interrupted Andrew when he saw her on a bench next to the grand staircase.

Olivia blinked out of her thoughts and looked at the Gryffindor in front of her.

“Nothing really.” she said as she verified if she was not drooling. “Just waiting for you, I know that you have a history of magic next. I thought I could walk with you, I'm done with class for today.”

“Lucky you,” he smiled. “That's nice of you, I wanted to spend time with you too.”

Olivia looked at the Gryffindor as her cheeks flushed a little… He looked like he just woke up with his messy black hair. Andrew passed his hand in them, clearing the view on his dark eyes. 

_ He really is good-looking. _

Andrew proposed her hand to help her stood up, and she accepted. He was a bit taller than her, so she had to look up a little to look in the eyes.

“Such a gentleman.”

He leaned closer to her ear. 

“Only to you.” he whispered. 

She chuckled. Andrew was a known flirt in Hogwarts, but she liked how he stopped messing around when things changed between them. Like he was really trying to focus on her.

“Lets go.” Liv said as she let go of her hand. “You don't want to be late.”

“Binns won't notice if I am…”

They started walking in the direction of the classroom. At this hour, most of the students were already in class. 

“I can't wait to be this weekend !” Olivia began. “I missed going to the three broomsticks.”

“I really wish we wouldn't have to cancel the party,” the Gryffindor complained. “The dozen bottles of firewhisky I smuggled in need to be useful, you know.”

“Don't worry,” she said as they turned in a corridor, “they will be. “

The classroom was only a few meters ahead, but Andrew stopped walking. Olivia looked at him to tell him that his classmate was already inside, but as she saw his serious expression, she kept her mouth shut.

“I also really wanted to dance with this girl you know ?”

He locked eyes with the Slytherin. His voice sounded confident, but his cheeks betrayed him. For once, she was not the one blushing.

“I’m sure she wanted it too,” Liv teased as she took a step closer to him.

Less than a meter separated the two friends. Andrew broke the distance. He put his hand on Olivia's cheek, his thumb gently grabbing her chin. 

“Liv…” Andrew said softly as he leaned closer.

She put her hand in the back of his neck, finally bringing his lips on hers. 

Their first kiss was soft, like they were both hesitant. But who wouldn't be ? What they were doing was changing their whole relationship. Then the kiss deepened, to fully taste each other. 

Andrew's lips were soft and tested like peppermint, and Olivia wondered if she put on lipstick today. Her hand played with the back of Andrew hair, his mouth curving into an appreciative smile. 

They broke apart to catch their breath, their forehead against each other. When they finally looked at each other, the situation made them both laugh. It was awkward for sure to kiss one of your closest friend. But it also felt so simple and natural. 

But when Andrew leaned for a second round, someone cleared their throat in the empty corridor. 

The two “friends” quickly broke apart in surprise and Olivia turned to discover their DADA teacher in the corridor. 

_ Since when is he here ?  _

Lupin walked past them, his hands in his long coat. His face was cold, as always when Liv was around, but he also seemed a bit awkward to have witnessed the intimate moment between the two. 

“Mister Sharman,” he said as he looked at the Gryffindor. “I believe you are late to class.”

“I'll be on my way soon sir, '' he responded with a large smile. “I just have to take care of some business first.”

_ Is he talking about me right now ?  _ Liv hit him lightly on the shoulder. 

Lupin glanced at her, but said nothing. And as quick as he appeared, he went away. When the sound of his footsteps indicated he wasn’t coming back, the Gryffindor grinned. 

“He didn't even salute you. You two really despise each other. “

“You have no idea,” Olivia agreed as she fixed the corridor where the teacher disappeared into.

“And I don't care.” Andrew lifted Liv’s chin with his finger. “Now… Where were we ?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is called first kiss even tho I know it's the not the one you were expecting ! Be patient ;)


	9. Hogsmeade dog

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

When Olivia opened her eyes this morning, she immediately noticed the silence. The Slytherin house was not the loudest in the castle- the lions beat them in this field, but it was unusual to be this calm. 

She rolled over in her bed to face her night stand. Her watch indicated it was past eleven. Next to the framed picture of her and Clara was a note. Liv grabbed it as she stretched. She recognized the handwriting of her best friend. 

“Couldn’t wake you up. We went without you. We’ll be at the three broomstick hurry up.”

She suddenly remembered it was hogsmeade weekend and her mouth curved into a smile. It gave her a boost of energy, and she jumped out of bed. After a quick shower, she put on her clothes. She chose a big hoodie in case it was cold outside and put her wand on her pocket ; she was ready to go. 

She couldn't resist from taking some food from the great before leaving the castle. An empty stomach always made her grumpy. As she expected, the dining room and the castle in general were mostly empty. Everyone was already at Hogsmeade. On her way out, she did encounter the famous Harry Potter, mumbling to himself with a sad look on his face, but did not think much of it. 

The wind brushed her face as she walked down the hill to the village. The leaves were turning more and more orange, and made Liv think about tomorrow's dinner : the Halloween feast was always delicious.

She finally arrived at hogsmeade, and began walking toward the three broomsticks, but something caught her eyes.

What seemed to be a black fluffy tail disappeared In a small alley. At first, Liv thought she was still not completely awake, as she did not remember ever seeing a dog in hogsmeade. But maybe one of the residents decided to adopt one, or was it Hagrid’s dog Fang lurking around ? In any case, it made her curious. She loved dogs, and remembered her disappointment when she realized they were not in the list of pets they could bring in the school. She always wanted to sneak a puppy into the castle, but she also knew that Dumbledore would know about it the second it would enter Hogwarts’ ground.

Olivia quietly followed the dog for a few minutes, before he noticed her and tried to run away. She ended up catching it in a dead end. They were both deep into the village, far away from the shops. Liv had never been here, and was sure no other student had either. 

The black dog growled as she tried to approach him. Olivia noticed how bad the animal looked. He was dirty and seemed malnourished. 

_ How does a stray end up here ? _

The dog seemed ready to fight and started showing his fangs. Liv took a step back ,hoping not to come back to the castle with scars. She put a hand in her pocket and the black dog growled again.

“Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you” She tried to calm the dog. “I have food for you.”

Olivia showed him the bread she took earlier in the great hall. The dog did not calm immediately, but did not attack her as she took a step toward him. She crouched down and held out her hand. 

“Come on, I'm sure you're hungry.”

She had to encourage him for a few minutes before the dog calmed down. Still defensive, he furtively approached her and grabbed the food before running to another alley. 

“Hey, wait up !” She shouted as she tried to follow him.

Unfortunately he was too quick for her this time, and he disappeared into the village. Defeated, Olivia put her hand on her knees to catch her breath. She could fly for hours, but running, hell no.

“Miss Montgomery ?” interrupted someone behind her. 

“Fuck !” Liv cursed under her breath in surprise.

With his usual dark coat on his shoulder, Professor Lupin was looking at the student. His eyes glanced behind her, as to see what made her out of breath. 

“Professor,” she greeted him politely as she gained back her composure.

They looked at each other in silence. His hair was a bit messy, like he had also been running. 

_ Did he want to see the dog too _ ? Wondered Olivia.

“What can I do for you ?” She finally asked.

Professor Lupin hesitated for a little second, as if he didn't expect the student to ask that. 

“I only wanted to remind you that you still haven't turned your essay on Banshees.” He paused. “I will accept not accept it late…”

_ Not from me _ . Completed Olivia in her mind.  _ Did he really come here just to be rude ? _

“It will be on your desk on time,” she assured as she purposely jostled him to pass him in the alley.

Liv walked away from him. The way this teacher had the power to change her good mood in only a few seconds pissed her. The black dog left her mind, and she went back to the main street of the village, joining the crowd of students. The Slytherin bought a few snacks from Honeydukes and finally entered the three broomsticks. 

The place was crawling with students and locals. Even some staff members of Hogwarts were seated at the bar. Olivia saluted professor Flitwick before noticing someone waving at her at the back of the room. 

Her friends were seating at their usual table, and she joined them after ordering a butterbeer for herself. 

“What took you so long ?” Asked Clara as she sat next to her.

She showed them the bag from Honeydukes. 

“Bought some things to eat for Halloween.”

Oliver smiled as Andrew took a sip of his drink, and Olivia noticed the multiple empty drinks on the table.

“I see you didn't wait for me before starting,” she commented.

They all giggled like children, making Liv lift an eyebrow. 

“Why do you all sound like you're drunk ?” She asked. “I don't remember butterbeer having that much alcohol in it, did they change the recipe over this summer ?” 

Andrew looked around them to make sure no one was listening. Like a creepy dealer, he opened his jacket to expose a bottle of firewhisky. Olivia's eyes widened. 

“I'm making use of them, see ?”

“You know we can just order some, we are not fifth year anymore,” she joked.

Andrew shrugged and explained it was less expensive this way, hiding the bottle when Madam Rosmerta came with Liv's order. Olivia thanked the owner as she left and looked at Clara. 

“I didn't expect you to take part of it.”

“I’m just so done with work !” She explained a bit loudly. “I deserve to have some fun.“

“Damn right,” added Oliver. 

“And it tastes so good with butterbeer,” concluded the purple haired Slytherin with a stupid smile.

Andrew put his hand on the glass handle of Olivia’s drink.

“So, you want some ?”

Liv put on a shocked expression, as if the question was beneath her.

“Of course I want some, you guys are not getting wasted without me.“’

Andrew smiled and in a professional movement, he poured some firewhisky in her drink. Olivia got back her drink after a few seconds, and looked around to make sure no one saw the shady business going on back here.

Her eyes noticed professor Lupin, seated next to Flitwick at the bar. He was looking in their direction, and probably saw what happened. Olivia wasn't going to let him ruin her good mood once again, and looked him dead in the eyes as she drank her butterbeer all at once, daring him to say anything. He didn't, and went back to his conversation with the charm professor. 

_ I hope he chokes on his butterbeer. _

Her friends cheered her when she put her empty drink on the table. The day only started, and they knew they were going to have trouble walking back to the castle tonight, but they didn't care. 

* * *

Sunday morning, none of them was up for breakfast, and they almost missed lunch too. When they finally woke up, they were grateful that Olivia had prepared potions against hungover for the former Ravenclaw party, they needed it. Madam Rosmerta had to ask them to leave because they were getting too noisy last night. 

At lunch, they talked about how grateful they were that Clara made them do their homeworks on Friday, because none of them had the capacity to focus today. Above them, the ceiling of the great hall was decorated with pumpkins and other Halloween related ornaments. 

The day went nicely. They played exploding snap and ate all the snacks that Olivia bought. In the afternoon, Clara left to tutor some younger Slytherin and Oliver decided to go talk with his team before dinner.

Andrew and Liv were seated on a bench, her head on his lap as he played with her hair, talking about the last gossip in Hogwarts. Sometimes, he interrupted her by gently kissing her. Every time the kiss deepened, and soon enough they were not talking any more. 

Students began to walk to the great hall for dinner, breaking the intimate moment between the two. Olivia was going to follow them when Andrew grabbed her hand. 

“Do we really have to go ?” He asked. 

Olivia looked at all the students hurrying to dinner before looking back at the Gryffindor. 

“Give me one good reason to miss the Halloween feast.”

Andrew pulled her close to him, crossing her finger with his. He leaned to kiss her, but before his lips touched Liv's, he murmured. 

“I can think of one or two…”

Liv batted her lashes, not sure what he was implying.

“I’m sure the Gryffindor common room is empty by now.” he added as his cheeks flustered at his own comment. 

The Slytherin mouth curved into a smile as she kissed him. She began to march in opposition to the crowd, her hands still holding Andrew's. With a little movement of her head, she invited him to follow her. 

Soon after, with the help of an invisibility spell, they entered the Gryffindor common room. The place was desert, everyone else was enjoying the feast happening some floor below. 

Olivia didn't even wait to be in his dorm to make out with Andrew again. He gently pushed her on the sofa in front of the fireplace, and placed himself on top of her. She put her hand on his neck to really look at him. He locked eyes with her, asking her if she was sure she wanted this. Olivia kissed him in response.

Softly, he kissed her lips, before attacking his neck. Liv played with his black hair as a moan escaped her mouth when he began sucking her skin just above her shirt collar.

She grabbed his shirt and made him raise his arm to take it off. He stood there, topless for a good minute, as Olivia stoked his bare chest.

_ How can he have abs without doing any sports ? _

She did not have time to think about it as Andrew crashed his lips on her. His hands went under his shirt, and Olivia shivered at the coldness of his finger. 

He was starting to take off her shirt, kissing her on her stomach at the same time. But suddenly, an unusual sound drew Olivia’s attention. 

“Did you hear that ?”

“Are you talking about your heart beat ? Because it sure is loud.” he joked without stopping his attack on her belly.

But as soon as Olivia's focus went back to the black haired, the sound started once more, louder enough for Andrew to notice it.

They both turned to the entrance of the common room. Suddenly, a high-pitched shout made them stand up.

Andrew looked at Olivia, fear crossing over their faces.

“Is someone attacking the fat lady ?”  
  



	10. Two and Two

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

“Is someone attacking the fat lady ?”

Andrew looked at Olivia, searching for a response in her scared expression. The Slytherin kept her eyes fixed on the entrance of the Gryffindor common room as she reached for her wand that felt on the ground earlier. 

“Fuck,” realized Andrew. “I left mine on my bed.”

He looked between the stairs and Olivia.

“Don't move and stay quiet, I'm gonna be here in a sec.”

The brown haired girl nodded, and raised her hand in defence as the Gryffindor disappeared in the stairs. The noise had stopped, and Olivia wondered if the menace was out of the way. Contrary of what Andrew had advised, she took a few steps in the direction of the entrance. 

Liv put her ear against the back of the painting ; everything seemed to be silent, when suddenly, she heard a voice on the other side of the portrait. 

“Let me in,” said a man whose voice was unknown to her.

The fat lady refused, and threatened him to scream once again. Olivia understood that what they heard earlier was the fat lady herself. 

“Please, you knew me,” asked the stranger again.

His voice was rough, like he just got out a bad disease that kept him mute for a long time. 

“Please,” he repeated. 

He sounded desperate, but also devastated, like the fact that the fat lady was refusing him was breaking his heart. 

“I need to protect him,” he begged. 

_ Who is he talking about ? _ Wondered Olivia, her ear still against the portrait. 

The gatekeeper refused once again, and in what seemed to be an excess of frustration, the stranger slashed the portrait. 

Olivia was lucky she got good reflex, because if she did not take a few steps back quickly, the attack of the man would have got her too. She was not ready to live without one of her ears. 

As she backed away, her back bumped into Andrew’s chest. He looked at where Olivia was standing a few seconds ago, discovering the damage on the portrait. He glanced in terror at Olivia, and looked at her from head to toes, and when he made sure she was not hurt too, he sighed in relief. 

Andrew did not reprimand her for not listening to him, and raised his wand instead. Olivia moved in the same posture beside him, both ready to jinx the person trying to break into the Gryffindor common room.

They both waited, scared of what they would have to face. Soon, their arms began to tremble, tired of keeping the same position for so long. The two students had no idea for how long they faced the entrance with their wand ready, but they were too scared to move. 

Andrew was about to speak, when suddenly the portrait began to slowly open. Liv was mentally choosing the spell she was going to cast, when a familiar silhouette entered the common room. 

McGonagall quickly entered the room, her eyes widening when she realized the presence of the two students. Filch and professor Lupin followed her into the place, a mass of students behind them, all of them trying to peek at what was going on inside. The DADA closed the portrait behind him. Filch didn't even look at the students, and began to search the place. 

The two professors approached the students as they finally put down their wands in relief. McGonagall's expression hardened as she looked at them. 

“What in the name of Merlin are you doing here ?” She demanded.

Olivia and Andrew looked at each other. How should they phrase this ? 

“Nothing,” Liv began before her friend cut her off.

“Not each other if you are wondering. Or drugs !” Andrew blurted without thinking, still tense after what happened. 

Olivia looked at him, asking him mentally if he was being serious right now. 

_ I now understand why he was not sorted into Ravenclaw _ , thought Olivia as she facepalmed herself in her mind.

She looked back at the professors who were both staring at them with a severe look. Lupin’ eyes narrowed while looking at Olivia, and the Slytherin wondered why, following his gaze.

Just above her shirt collar, she discovered that a red mark was starting to appear. She first wondered how she got hurt here, but then realized :

Andrew gave her a freaking hickey ! 

She looked at her friend, and before she could insult him with a dark look, she realized he was still topless, his shirt waiting next to the sofa since earlier. 

She finally faced the two professors again, her face probably as read as the room she was in. They could probably add two and two together and understood what we were doing two seventeen years old alone in a room. Especially with how they were both looking. Her own clothes and hair were a mess, and Andrew wasn't tricking anyone either. 

It was probably not the first time McGonagall caught two students together, but with the look on Lupin’s face it was probably his. 

The DADA professor looked at Olivia. If she had to translate his expression, he was probably thinking that he wasn’t really expecting more from her. He then turned to his colleague, silently waiting for her more experimented judgement. 

Filch announced the room and dorms were safe, and left the place, leaving them. The crowd of students was still waiting outside, and were starting to become impatient.

“We will deal with…  _ this…  _ later,” she said as she gestured to the two teenagers. “First, I need you to explain what you know about what happened right now.”

Olivia explained what happened, making sure not to say anything more about the real reason she was here with Andrew, even though she was sure the teachers had any doubts any more. When she got to the part of the attack of the portrait, she didn't mention how desperate the man sounded. She felt the information would not help anyone, and she was not even sure that it was not just her mind imagining stuff. 

When McGonagall told them it was Sirius Black who was behind it, The whole conversation she heard before played in her mind. It didn't really make sense, but she did not have time to think more about it before Dumbledore walked into the room.

The head of Gryffindor repeated what the students said, and the headmaster turned to them. 

“You were both very lucky, I hope you realize that,” he said very seriously. 

They both nodded.

“Thirty points from each of your houses,” he declared, “and you will be in detention twice a week until Christmas, understood ? 

“Understood,” the two friends repeated, unhappy about how their evening turned out. 

“Mister Sharman, you will be with me,” said McGonagall before turning to the Slytherin. “Miss Montgomery, I suppose professor Snape will be in charge of you.” 

Olivia nodded, pleased about the turn of events. She knew that Snape would take this time to personally teach her some potions they don't study in class ; that is what he did every time she got detention with him. 

But maybe Olivia didn't have such a good poker face because Dumbledore decided to change his plans after looking at her.

“I'm sure Severus will be rather busy with everything happening,” he declared before turning to the man on his left. “Professor Lupin, would you mind taking care of Miss Montgomery ?”

Lupin eyes widened at the surprising demand of his superior. He glanced at the Slytherin. Her whole face was telling how much she wanted him to decline. 

“Of course,” he finally responded.

He locked eyes with Olivia, and she immediately knew he was pleased to finally manage to get her in detention after everything that happened. 

_ Asshole. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening ! I hope you like it :)  
> The following chapters will progressively be longer.


	11. Official ?

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

After searching the entire castle to find the infamous Sirius Black, Dumbledore decided that the students should regroup in the great hall for the night. 

Olivia and Andrew got a full speech from McGonagall about their inadmissible behaviour before they were finally dismissed. 

Olivia didn't have time to say a word in private to Andrew before she got hurried by the teacher to gather her things in her dorm for the night. She only caught a glimpse of him going into his dorm to do the same. When she left the Gryffindor common house, she faced a crowd of students eager to know what was going on. She got attacked by all these younger years in quest of response, but luckily the head of their house asked for their attention, helping her find a way out of the mass. 

She passed next to Oliver, who also tried to ask her what was going on, but she didn't have time to explain. He understood, and followed his peer inside their house. 

The corridors were crawling from students and teachers, all of them trying not to succumb to panic. The breaking of Hogwarts was not something to take easily.

As she walked to her dorm, she realized how messy she still looked. It was obvious to anyone paying attention that she was not like that because of a study session. She tried to fix her hair the best she could, and put her shirt correctly, Her finger slowly caressed the red mark above her collar.

When she finally reached her dorm, Clara was inside, grabbing her things for the night. When the purple haired Slytherin realized the presence of her friends, she stopped, her face full of worries. 

“Liv ! By Merlin, where were you ?!”

To Olivia's surprise, Clara pulled her in a hug. 

“I was so worried,” she confessed. “When I heard what was going on, and I didn't know where you were, I thought the worst had happened.”

Olivia returned the hug. The embrace of her friend made her finally realize all the tension she built up since earlier. She was finally relaxing a little.

She explained everything to her friend, getting a vicious look when she told her she was with Andrew all this time. She obviously saw the hickey, and what happened was not too complicated to guess from this point. Clara then became dead serious when she got to the part of the breaking. Liv confessed that she was truly scared, and Clara held her tighter. 

When Clara released her after a soft reminder on how lucky she was, Olivia walked to her bed. She changed into more comfortable clothes for tonight, and went into the bathroom. 

She looked terrible. All the different emotions of this evening could be read on her face. She splashed some water on her face, hoping it could make everything go away. 

“We need to go, hurry up guys !” she heard one of the Slytherin prefects shouting from the common room.”

She picked up her wand on the counter and joined the rest of her house. Some students looked at her, murmuring between them. The news of how she got caught in the rival common house was moving fast, but a bad look from her made them silent. 

“So… You and Andrew are like…official now ?” Asked Clara as they walked down a corridor.

“We didn't really have time to talk about it,” murmured Olivia.

The two girls walked at the end of their group, creating some privacy between them.

“Do you want it to be official ?”

Olivia looked at her friend, who was already looking at her. Clara really knew her too well. Liv put her hand on her neck, thinking. 

“I don't know…” She confessed. “I like how we are now you know ; I like us as friends.

“I don't think we call your relationship simply friends,” joked Clara 

“Well I like us as friends…with benefits well say,” she added with a smile. “I don't want to ruin what we have you know, I’m scared to be his…”

She paused as she was going to pronounce the name of you know who.

“To be his girlfriend.”

Clara rolled her eyes before becoming more serious. 

“You need to tell him you know ? Don't let him believe something else.”

Olivia nodded, she knew she had to. She really hoped this wasn't going to be an awkward conversation. 

The serpents finally made their way in front of the great hall, as well as the others house. The brown haired Slytherin saw Andrew and Oliver a few meters ahead, but before she could even think of walking to them, Dumbledore clapped his hands, and made them enter.

The tables and benches had been replaced by sleeping bags all over the room. Liv's back already hurted from the thought of sleeping against the floor with only that.

The headmaster asked the student to regroup by houses, and to put the seventh year toward the entrance in case something happened, and they needed to defend the younger one. He reassured all of them by telling them that all the teachers were going to do rounds in the castle all night, accompanied by the prefects, and at least one teacher would stay with them at all times. 

In silence, the students took place in their bed for the night. Liv was surprisingly happy with how comfortable they were ; probably magic ones.

She slipped into it, and began to look around to see everyone do the same. Clara was already trying to sleep next to her, and Mia seemed to have trouble finding a comfortable sleeping position. When everyone was installed, the teachers began to leave the place to search for the criminal once again, making Binns the first one to watch over them. 

Liv smiled. Binns was not the most attentive teacher in the castle, and wouldn't probably notice if she slipped out of her bag for a minute or two. She quickly found where Andrew was lying, and began to wait for their teacher to fall asleep as he usually does in class. It took maybe twenty minutes before he dozed off, and Olivia began to slowly move on the ground, trying not to wake up anyone around her. But before she could completely get out of her sleeping bag, she heard a voice behind her. 

She mentally insulted herself for not checking the entrance before moving, because obviously, someone entered without her noticing. She knew who it was before she turned to face him. 

_ Why is it always this guy ? _

As she though, Professor lupin was standing just a meter away, asking her what she was doing with a simple head movement

“Just stretching,” she lied.

He obviously didn't believe it, and looked in the direction of Andrew before going back to her. Her teacher understood what she was trying to do and with a severe look he said :

“Don't do anything stupid. You wouldn't want to be in detention until Easter, would you ?”

Olivia did not respond, and after another dark look between the two, she returned inside her bag.

Lupin woke Binns up, and exchanged places with him. As he sat on a wooden stool on a corner of the room, he made sure to fix the Slytherin to prevent Liv from doing anything. The girl sighed loudly, to make sure he understood how pissed she was.

_ Fucking cockblocker. _

She laid on her back, looking at the ceiling. The usual candles were missing, and everyone could observe a starry night. Sometimes, a shooting star would appear for those who were looking long enough. 

Olivia began to remember everything that happened earlier. How Andrew looked on top of her, his hair falling across his face. She was sure that If they didn't get interrupted by all of this, her and Andrew would have gone way further. There was no point in hiding it, she really wanted it to happen. 

She last had some fun this summer, with one muggle she encountered in London on a random day out. Since then, nothing happened, and she was beginning to really miss the feeling of physical touch. Liv turned her head in the direction of Andrew, imagining all the things they could have done earlier. She quickly stopped, hoping no one was practising legilimency around her. If the Slytherin had been alone in her dorm, she probably would have had a wandering hand to release her frustration. 

She forced herself to think about something else, and the voice of Sirius Black began to play back and forth in her mind. 

Olivia knew who he was and what he'd done. She knew he was a terrible murderer. But if she had to judge him just by the way his voice sounded earlier, she probably wouldn't have believed it. He sounded so sad, so tragic, like he was truly hurt that the fat lady didn't open the door. She heard he was a Gryffindor when he was at Hogwarts years ago, maybe it was why he sounded so tortured by the harsh words of the portrait. And the fact that he said he had to protect someone. Was he talking about Harry ? But everyone knew he was trying to kill him. Nothing made sense, and her head began to hurt from the confusion. 

Liv closed her eyes, wishing to empty her head from everything. 

But as she started to fall asleep, a loud snoring stopped her. Olivia turned to the culprit, Marcus, sleeping two bags away. No one seemed to mind, and she hesitated to throw her pillow on him to stop this horrible nasal sound. But Lupin, still watching over them in the corner, stopped her with a simple look. 

Not having the possibility to attack her comrade, she then tried to choke herself on her pillow. Death seemed way more peaceful.

_ If my day goes any worse, I'm asking hell if I can transfer to llervorny,  _ she thought when air started to run out.

Too busy with her weird attempt to fall asleep, the Slytherin didn't notice the small smirk on her teacher's face, a little amused by the scene in front of him.

* * *

As the first ray of sunshine began to light the great hall, the whole room started to wake up. Liv night was rough. Even though the sleeping bags were most certainly charmed to be more comfortable than the common one, she still had trouble accommodating to the sensation of the stone floor. She woke up multiple times just to move in search of a more agreeable position.

So when Clara woke up like it was the best night of her life, with her usual smile on her face, Olivia was already in a bad mood. They just had time to briefly salute each other before Dumbledore told them to go back to their dorm before breakfast. The students left the room, chatters slowly beginning among them. Liv didn't have time to get to their Gryffindor friends in the crowd and in a sigh, they followed the rest of their houses. 

The bathroom was already occupied with Mia when Clara and Olivia got there, and they had to wait for at least thirty minutes before they could finally access it. After a quick shower, and a bit of makeup to cover the dark circle behind her eyes, Olivia finally dressed up. She picked up her books for her first class, and joined Clara to go eat. 

When they got there, the great hall was back to her usual form, like the event of last night never happened. The students were eating breakfast casually and even the teachers acted as if no murderer tried to break a few hours ago. But if we looked close enough, it was obvious that they were tense, and Olivia understood that Black was still on the run. 

Liv looked around, but to her despair, Andrew was nowhere to be found. They took too long to prepare and their two friends were probably already on their way to class. The two girls sat at their table and quickly ate something before it was time to go. 

Herbology and Charms seemed to take too long for Olivia, eager to talk with the black haired Gryffindor. 

When lunch finally arrived, she was one of the first to jump out of the class, almost running to get to the great hall. By chance, she caught the one she was looking for just before he and Oliver could even take a step inside the room. 

“Andrew”, she shouted as she arrived in front of him.

To Oliver and Andrew, the scene before their eyes was probably hilarious. Olivia hated running, and here she was, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath, looking like she was going to pass out. 

When she was finally able to breathe correctly, she quickly saluted her fellow quidditch friend, and asked him if she could talk to Andrew privately. Oliver immediately accepted, probably because he knew what had happened last night from Andrew, and headed inside.

The two friends moved further into the corridor to let other students inside and have a little more privacy. Andrew looked at Olivia, his hands in the pocket of robes, while the Slytherin nervously played with a strand of hair.

“So about last night,” they both began in unison.

Surprised, they both looked at each other, and the awkwardness they both felt turned into laughter. Andrew smiled at his friend, and told her to go first. 

“Andrew, let me just begin with the fact that I really enjoyed last night, before… You know” she said as she gestured to the event of last night. 

Andrew nodded with a smile. 

“So did I.”

Liv loved how he looked right now, confident, but at the same time, his slightly pink cheeks were betraying him. 

“I feel there is a but…” he added, his smile fading a little.

Immediately, Olivia felt bad. 

“Well, I don't know how to say it,” she hesitated. “I like us like we are, you know ? I truly love our friendship… 

Andrew cut her off.

“You want us to go back as simple friends ?” He asked.

“No ! No ! It’s not that.”

Andrew looked confused. 

“I don't understand.”

Liv sighed, her hand on her neck. 

_ Fuck it, I'm just going to say it _ .

“I just don't wanna be your girlfriend.” she admitted, avoiding his gaze. “I just want us to be like we are right now.”

Andrew paused, assimilating the information. He looked at his feet, searching his word. 

“So, like friends… But with benefits ?”

“Yes…” Responded Olivia timidly.

With his face hidden, Liv couldn't tell how he was feeling. Was he hurt, sad ? Maybe he was revolted by everything ? But to her surprise, he let out a deep breath before looking back to his friend with a smile. 

“My god Liv you scared me. I felt you were dumping me, and we aren't even together,” he laughed to a confused Olivia. “I like us right now too.”

Olivia smiled at the surprisingly good reaction of her friend. Andrew took a step to get closer to her. 

“You just don't want to be my girlfriend ? It’s okay, I kinda feel the same.”

“It's easier this way,” she explained and Andrew nodded

They both knew that if they got official and one day they broke up, it would affect their whole friend group. They both knew it was more important than any relationship. Andrew finally closed the distance between them and put his hand on Liv’s cheek. 

“If it means I can still do that,” he murmured as he leaned toward her, “I'm very okay with it.”

He softly kissed his lips, and Olivia smiled against his mouth. As she returned the kiss, the tension she felt about this conversation went away. It couldn't have gone better. 

Liv's stomach decided it was the best moment to growl, and in a laugh, the two headed to lunch, joining their friend inside. 

The rest of the day went smoothly. None of the teachers said a word about Sirius Black, and no students dared to ask. Olivia almost forgot it ever happened if one of the Slytherin prefects did not remind her that starting tonight, she had detention.

So after finishing transfiguration and then potions, instead of spending some time with Clara in the common room like they had planned, she had to make her way to the DADA classroom. And everyone that saw her on her way could tell how unhappy she was about it. 

Olivia reached the wooden door, and after letting out a loud annoyed breathe out of her mouth, she knocked. 

“Come in.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With winter exams behind me, I really hope I can go back to post twice a week !  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter I really like ! Tell me what you think :)


	12. She lost her temper. Again.

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

“Come in,” said a voice on the other side of the door.

Olivia opened the door. Inside the defence against the dark art classroom, Professor lupin was seated at his deck, focused on grading papers. 

“Close the door behind you,” he ordered without looking at her. 

Olivia obeyed and took a few steps inside the classroom, waiting for directions about what she had to do. Each professor had their own way to do detention. McGonagall used this time to make their students work on extra homework, Flitwick used this time to help the students practice, and Snape loved to make his students cleans everything in his class. Olivia was a rare exception of course, the head of Slytherin making her work on potions they didn't study in class instead. This beneficial treatment was the main reason she was the only student not scared to spend alone time with the potion master. 

The fact that Olivia should have been with Snape at this very moment, discovering a new potion she never heard of really annoyed her. Instead, she was here, with this man she couldn't stand. Professor Lupin still hadn't looked up from all the paper on his desk, and with his non-occupied hand, he made her understand to take a seat. 

Liv sat in her usual seat, in the middle of the class. Even if the whole class was empty, she preferred to distance herself from the other person present. She put her books on the wooden table, and the sound finally made the professor react.

Lupin looked up to the Slytherin, his eyes quickly judging her before going back to work. 

“I believe you have an essay to give me soon. Work on it.”

Not really surprised, Olivia opened the DADA book she thought of bringing from her room beforehand. She prepared her quill and put her paper in front of her. She had already pretty advanced on her essay on banshee, she just had to add some details and maybe restructure some sentences here and there, and it would be over. In silence, she began working. 

The room was quiet, only filled with the sound of two quills moving on paper. Olivia was focused on her task, sometimes flipping some page on her books to be sure she wasn't writing something wrong. Normally, she would have done this essay in the presence of Clara, which would have made the whole thing better. They would probably have joked about how the fatal scream of the creature was nothing compared to Clara singing, or something like that.

Instead, she had this tense ambiance between her and this teacher, which made the whole thing even more annoying. She wondered if Andrew was luckier with McGonagall. From experience, Liv knew that spending detention with the transfiguration teacher wasn’t the funniest moment of the day. But at least, Olivia liked this teacher, which already made it batter. 

The Slytherin remembered how once, after she got caught out of bed way too late, she had two spent the whole evening of the following day with the head of the Gryffindor. But Liv fell asleep in the middle of the detention- this is what happens when you don't sleep the night before- and missed dinner. Yet, on this same evening, she didn't go to bed with an empty stomach : when she woke up, two sandwiches were waiting for her on her desk. McGonagall denied everything when Liv asked her if it was from her, but the little smile on her lips gave her away. Olivia really loved the lady. 

Last year, she ended up more than once in detention with the former DADA teacher Lockhart. The man made everyone help him by signing his book, and with the numerous hours she had with him, she did end up having the time to fully read his newest novel. And, to be honest, the man was far from ugly, so at least she got an eyeful out of him, especially when he was wearing his tight red pants. Just for that particular sight, she missed the man.

After writing for more than an hour, Liv put her quill down. She read what she wrote one last time, making sure there weren't any spelling mistakes hiding between some lines and smiled. the Slytherin had truly finished, and she was even feeling proud of her work. She probably didn't do as good as Clara, obviously, but good enough to have a grade that would make her happy. 

She stretched on her chair, looking around the familiar classroom. Above her head, a dragon’s skeleton was hanging from the ceiling, immediately making her think about a particular Weasley boy. Last time she asked, Percy told her that his big brother was in Romania, in a sanctuary studying dragons. She smiled at the thought of the boy surrounded by those terrifying creatures like it was not a big deal. She hadn’t seen Charlie for years now, only catching a glimpse of him on the holiday pictures that the twins showed her the other day. Liv would deny it every time someone asked, but she had the biggest crush on him when she was younger. The tall and handsome quidditch captain of the Gryffindor team made her blush for a long time. Liv never told Oliver, but the ginger was the main reason she had started quidditch, dreaming of him falling for her as he realized how good she was on a broom. It never happened of course, and her heart had shattered when he finally left school as she entered her fourth year.

Olivia shook her head to make the handsome smile of Charlie disappear, and noticed it was starting to get dark outside. She was eager to finish this detention, and her eyes fell on the teacher a few meters away. As if Lupin felt her eyes on him, he looked up from his work. 

“I'm done with my essay. Can I go ?” Asked Olivia, hoping to go back to her dorm sooner.

“Detention ends in twenty minutes,” he replied coldly.

“So what do I do,” she demanded, already annoyed to have to wait. 

“You stay silent,” he answered, a bit annoyed, “if that's something you can do.”

Olivia's eyes widened at the unexpected remark of her professor. She didn't do anything wrong or disturb him at any moment during the detention, he had no reason to be rude. But instead of talking back, she contained herself. The teacher went back to work, unbothered.

Professor Lupin was deeply focused on his task, reading every line and taking time to correct every mistake he could find. Olivia had seen on her own homework how he took time to be as precise as he could in his corrections, making them easy to understand. It was one of many reasons he was the most loved DADA teacher so far.

But today, he seemed more annoyed by this task than usual. Every inch of parchment he had to lay eyes on seemed to bother him. Seating a bit straighter on her chair, Olivia managed to get a glimpse of one of them. Her 10/10 eyes really helped in this kind of situation. If she was correct, her professor was grading the essay they did almost a month ago when Snape took over.

_ The ones on werewolf ? _ She wondered.  _ I never thought we would see them again after so long. _

Lupin angrily passed his hand on hair, messing them a bit, and Olivia hoped from the look on his face he was not reading hers right now. With the same hand, he grabbed his cup of tea on his desk, and took a sip, which seemed to immediately calm him. As he went back to the paper in front of him, Olivia couldn't help but notice something on his desk she had never seen before. On the edge of his desk was a wooden name plate in which was engraved : _ R. J. Lupin _ . Liv realized she had never heard his first name. And without thinking, she asked : 

“What does the R stand for ?”.

Lupin looked at her, irritated by the unexpected interruption. He followed the Slytherin gaze on the plate and without caring, went back to his work.

“Quiet” he replied severely.

Olivia tensed up. 

_ Why is he such a prick ? _ She thought a little offended.  _ It was just a question _ .

Liv probably should have stopped there, but she obviously didn't. She stood up next to her desk and bent over as she was inspecting the plate closer. Of course there was nothing more to see, but she knew she was being more annoying doing so.

“It probably stand for something stupid anyway,” she mocked.

Lupin’s shoulders tensed up, trying to stay focused. 

“Miss Montgomery, I swear to Merlin if you don't stop talking.”

He tried to be calm, but his anger was easily detectable in his voice. Seeing she was successfully making him react, she did the opposite of what he asked. 

“R… Probably something like… Rusty teacher.” 

Sure, it wasn't her proudest comeback, but she didn't have time to think of anything better. To her delight, it was enough to make her teacher stand up from his desk. When she saw his furious eyes, a part of her regretted, but she went too far to apologize right now. She stood on her ground as professor Lupin advanced toward her.

He closed the distance between them rapidly, his long legs helping him. Olivia did not have time to move when Lupin entered her personal space, making her take a few steps back only to meet her desk against her back. He trapped her, putting his arms on both sides of the wooden table, making it impossible for her to escape. 

“Do you really want to piss me off ?” He snapped with a fuming voice.

Lupin was definitely taller than Olivia. He was overlooking her easily, making her look up to meet his gaze. His green eyes were darker than before, and Olivia noticed how his jaw clenched as he waited for her response. But before she could even open her mouth to say something that would have made her even more in trouble, her eyes glanced to what was in front of her. 

The last button of his white shirt was left open, and Lupin's collarbone was visible. Some scars were going up from his torso and Olivia left her eyes on them for a second, before slowly going back up. She never saw her teacher from so close before. A vein on his neck pulsed, just above one of his scars. He was close enough, so she could feel his breath on her. She couldn’t help but notice he was smelling like chocolate and coffee, and a shiver coursed over her as she finally met his eyes again. Some strands of his hair were falling before his eyes, making him look like he just got out of bed. He was almost… handsome. Olivia's heart pounded into her chest as she realized. 

_ Did I just find this man… hot ?  _

Before she could even analyse the insane thought that just crossed her mind, her teacher took a few steps back, checking her head to toes. His angry gaze was still there, now accompanied by a questioned look.

“That's what I thought,” Lupin said as he finally walked away.

Olivia was still standing there, unsure about what to do about what just happened in her mind. Did this thought really cross her mind, or is someone messing with her head ? Maybe she was under a spell that made her feel stupid or something ? Lupin's voice made her come back to earth. 

“Pack your shit and go, get the fuck out of my sight.”

Olivia didn't reply, which surprised her teacher, but he said nothing. She quickly grabbed her books and walked to the door, eager to leave this cursed place. But before she could disappear into the corridor, Lupin's voice raised one last time.

“You better change your attitude next time”, he said from his desk, his eyes following her. “I don't think I can tolerate more of it”

Without a look in his direction, Olivia closed the door. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH STUFF IS STARTING TO HAPPEN ;)


	13. Morpheus is a sadistic bitch

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

The room was silent, but her heartbeat echoed in her chest. 

A long finger went under her chin, making her look at the face of the man in front of her. Olivia looked eyes with him, her cheeks more than red. 

Her back against the edge of her wooden desk, the man smiled at the dominance he so obviously had over her. It was dark outside, the crescent moon illuminating the two persons through the large windows.

With his free hand, he messed his brown hair. His usual calm look had disappeared, and the man in front of Olivia was nothing like he used to ; he looked way more sensual, which she particularly appreciated.

Without breaking eye contact, he leaned toward her, but to Olivia's frustration, he did not kiss her. His lips only brushed hers, which made her longing for more. She tried to capture his lips herself, but he did not let her, moving his head before she could attain them. The man smiled at the unsatisfied look of the student. He was playing with her, and she knew it. He was the one controlling things here, and she would lie if she said she didn't love it. He was so close to her, yet unattainable, and it drove her mad. Their breaths were morphing into one.

He undid her tie, making it fall on the floor, next to her robes. Olivia should've been cold in her thin uniform, yet she was burning hot at this exact moment. He left her chin to spread her collar, and raised an eyebrow at the red mark at the end of her neck. Before she could say anything about it, he blew on the hickey, and it disappeared. The warm breath on her skin made her shiver, which he obviously noticed. His finger traced his way to the first button of her blouse. His eyes went back to meet her face, making sure not to miss any of Olivia's expressions. 

Then, one by one, he began to slowly open each button, exposing her chest more and more. She tried to contain her blush, in vain. Olivia's eyes closed, and he finally finished the last button, adding her top on the pile of clothes on the floor. The man's eyes glanced at her breasts, only covered by a thin bra. He went to kiss them just above her nipples, making her aches for more. But of course, he didn't go further, and let the last piece of cloth on. 

As she reopened her eyes to ask him for more, he suddenly spread her thigh with his right leg, making her gasp at the sudden pressure down there. 

She looked down to his thigh under her skirt, and the corner of her mouth lifted as she understood she was not the only one excited. His pants were too tight for her not to notice the bump that had appeared on them. Olivia's hand went to free him from this prison of cloth, but he grabbed her hand, stopping her before she could.

He smiled at the boldness of the girl, and put her hand away. She didn't have time to complain before she could feel the same hand on her knee. He slowly caressed her, his thumb rubbing her inner thigh. After teasing her a few times, he finally moved his hand higher. .

He wasn't surprised at all when he found her soaking wet, and grinned at the obvious effect he had on the girl. She let a soft moan when his finger started moving over her underwear, which only encouraged him to go further.

In an experienced movement, he tossed her underwear away, and Olivia bit her lips at the aroused look that the man gave her. He leaned toward her, and she hoped he was finally kissing her. She groaned as he put his tongue on her neck instead before playfully biting her lobe.

“Be a good girl, and stay _quiet._ ” Lupin finally whispered in her ear before disappearing between her thighs.

And Olivia immediately woke up. 

Liv had always loved sleeping. She loved the feeling of warmth as she went under her sheets after a long exhausting day. She loves waking up in the morning only to find out she still has time before class and trying to go back to sleep. She loved closing her eyes wondering what Morpheus's plans for tonight's dream were. But on this rainy Thursday morning, Olivia never hated it more.

Laying on her back, her eyes wide open, she was looking at the ceiling of her bed, the process of what just happened slowly finding his way into her brain. 

_What. The. Fuck._

Her cheeks immediately turned red as the dream played again and again in her head. The realization of what her mind had decided to create horrified her : She just had a sex dream about her teacher. About professor freaking Lupin !

If Liv had to be honest it was not the first time she had this kind of dream with a member of the staff. She once dreamed of Snape, but it was more weird and incomprehensible than hot, which made her laugh more than anything the morning after. However, this time, she had to recognize the _obvious_ effect that the dream had on her. 

Before she could reflect more on it, Clara snapped her fingers before Liv’s eyes. 

“Are you dead ?” She asked standing next to her bed. “Or are you sleeping with your eyes open… again ?”

Olivia blinked a few times before shaking her head to find the strength to move. She sat on her bed as Clara went back to pick up her uniform before going to the shower. Liv put away the few strands of hair before her eyes and followed her friend into the bathroom. She made sure to do some kind of small talk to keep her thoughts focused on something else while she waited for her turn, but she knew that it wouldn't help for so long. 

In front one of the large mirrors of their shared bathroom, Liv brushed her wet hair, as Clara finished her make up for the day. Facing her reflection, she also faced what she was trying to dismiss from her mind since a few days ago in detention.

She had been attracted to Lupin.

Putting words on it made her slightly groan, which made her receive a weird look from Clara next to her. In the last few days since it happened, she had done her best not to think about what had crossed her mind at the time. Quidditch and class kept her busy enough, but it seemed that her subconscious had decided to remember her in the worst way imaginable. She thought that this stupid attraction was a one time thing, but her dream seemed to disagree. 

But Olivia was stubborn, so she decided that the twisted nightmare she just had been simply her mind making fun of her, and nothing more. Cheered up by her simple decision, she turned to Clara :

“Breakfast ?” She asked with a smile. 

Clara’s brow raised at the sudden change of attitude in her friend, as Liv looked like she was about to throw herself out of the astronomy tower when she woke up. But she did not comment, as she had given up understanding how her brain's friend worked a long time ago. Clara grabbed their books in their dorm, and gave Olivia hers, and the two friends left the Slytherin house.

Olivia did her best to keep the conversation going as they walked to the great hall. Clara told her about her girlfriend Rosie and how the former Ravenclaw was doing her best in an internship at St Mungo. The usual calm Clara always became over excited when she talked about her girlfriend, which Olivia truly loved. Liv remembered in fifth grade when the purple haired Slytherin came out to her by kissing the Ravenclaw in front of her. She said nothing more, and just decided it was how she was going to tell everyone she liked girls from now on, which Liv found hilarious. Rosie made Clara truly happy, and even with the distance they were still so in love. 

They arrived at the great hall, less crowded than they expected, and noticed someone waving at them. In his usual quidditch jumper, Oliver was inviting them to sit at the Gryffindor table with him and Andrew. At the sight of the black haired Gryffindor, Olivia’s heart squeezed as if she had done something bad. She seated alongside Clara on the table, across from their friends. Andrew greeted them with his usual smile. 

“Morning ladies, how are you today ?” he asked.

“Good, a bit tired, but good, '' responded Liv as she put some food on her plate.

“Bad dream ?” Asked Oliver.

Liv cheeks probably flushed a little at the remembrance of last night, but no one seemed to notice. 

“Something like that”, she said before subtly changing the conversation.

They began talking about the breaking that happened a few days ago, and how Sirius Black was still on the loose. Today, it was no secret that Andrew and Olivia were in the Gryffindor common room when he attacked the fat lady, which had made them the attention of the school gossip for a few days now. Because of that, the two never found a moment alone together. They were always interrupted by a younger student full of questions about what happened, or someone just wanting to tease them about why they were there in the first place. Since then, they only shared a few kisses here and there, but nothing more, and Liv decided to blame her dream on this situation. 

As Olivia put her toast in her mouth, she wondered why she didn't dream of Andrew instead. She was definitely attracted to him, and wouldn't mind at all if he decided to do the thing she dreamed about. But at the same time, deep down she knew Andrew wasn't really the kind to take the lead like that. He was passionate, yes, but not like that. 

It was time for class to begin, and the group parted in different directions. Clara and Olivia made their way to transfiguration, then to potions. Both classes required her to be focused, and she was happy to, it made her forget about everything else. Also, Snape gave her an excellent grade on her last essay, which definitely made her day better.

The two girls ate lunch with their fellow house members, talking about the upcoming match against Gryffindor in a few days. Marcus remembered Liv of the quidditch practice they had after class today, and Liv told him that she obviously would be there. Clara gave her a little kick with her elbow. 

“What ?”

“Don't you have detention after class today ?”

Olivia's eyes widened, she totally forgot about it. She glanced at the books she carried since this morning. She hadn't noticed the obvious DADA one among them. Liv looked back to her friend with horror in her face.

“Are you telling me that we also have DADA today, and I have detention with him after ?”

Clara sighed with an amused smile.

“Yes, best day of your life, right ?” she mocked unaware of the trouble that the simple mention of the professor had on Olivia.

The girl put her hand on her face, mentally insulting herself for forgetting something so simple. It was Thursday, so of course they had Dada with him.

_Fuck_.

Marcus, shamelessly eavesdropping, pouted, but as Liv couldn't do anything about it, he told her to come meet them after detention as soon as possible. She assured them she would, apologizing for the trouble. It was really the worst time to miss training. She truly wanted to face Oliver with everything she had.

After lunch, the group of Slytherin went to their common class, charms. But Olivia's mind was more focused on trying to prepare herself and the inevitable meeting with professor Lupin. Why was her mind so fixated on this stupid dream ? Why couldn't she just put it aside as she said she would ? 

Now that she thought about it, she kinda always had a thing for men older than her. First, Charlie. Then Milan, her first true boyfriend, two years older than her. She always found herself attracted to more mature people, Andrew being one of the first boys her age she liked. And now Lupin. She shook her head to make the man disappear from her mind, in vain. The dream played again and again in her mind as professor Flitwick was trying to explain a spell she did not care about. 

If she had to rationalize her dream, it probably came from the unexpected dominant facet that the teacher had the last time they were together. She would have never thought that the so composed DADA teacher could act in such a way. The way he trapped her against the desk truly surprised her, and she hated how it made her feel something. It was no news to her, she appreciated a man with an assertive side. Draco would probably hex her if he knew, but she did have some inappropriate thoughts about his dad last year. She met him when he came to offer the new brooms to the Slytherin quidditch team, and she had to admit the man was attractive. An asshole, yes, but a damn attractive one. Clara almost puked when she told her that. 

The class ended, and it was time for Clara and Olivia to make their way to the DADA classroom. Liv did her best to hide the discomfort that grew under her skin every step that brought her closer to him. At this point, Clara probably noticed something was up, but said nothing as they were now among their classmates. They seated at their usual desk, and as always, their two Gryffindor friends came to chat with them.

But as Oliver was about to bring up the subject of the quidditch match between the two rival houses, the door of the DADA office opened. To everyone's surprise, professor Lupin was not the one standing on top of the staircase, but professor McGonagall herself. 

Everyone quickly seated at their desk, and the head of the Gryffindor house walked down the stairs. 

“Professor Lupin has an important meeting at the ministry today, and apologizes for missing today's lesson,” the lady explained at the class. “I will be his substitute for today.” 

Olivia let out a long breath in relief. She was grateful for whatever he had to do with the ministry, and didn't even care that this was his second absence in already two months. The transfiguration teacher decided to use this time to talk about the unforgivable curses, but insisted on the fact that professor Lupin would do another lesson on this important subject. This topic was terribly interesting in the eyes of Olivia, even though she knew how dangerous they were. Her curiosity kept her interested during the whole lesson. But as McGonagall was a transfiguration teacher, she couldn't help but notice how Lupin was a way more captivating professor when it came to DADA. Everyone knew how passionate he was about it, and it showed even more today in his absence. 

When it was time to wrap up the class, Olivia went up to the desk to ask her if the usual defence against the dark art teacher would be back for her detention. She had to hide her smile when the lady told her he wouldn't be back yet before tomorrow. She began to wonder if that would mean she could go to practice in time but the teacher cut her off.

“You will spend this detention with me Miss Montgomery. We will go right now with Mister Sharman.”

Andrew looked up at the sound of his name, and directly understood what the two were talking about. He smiled at Olivia who immediately felt happier about this detention. The two followed their professor to the transfiguration classroom, chattering about their respective days. When they got there, the Weasley twins were also here for detention. At least both quidditch teams were missing some players for today's practice.

“George, Fred,” Olivia saluted. “What brings you here today ?”

“Oh you know…” began Fred with a smile.

“… The usual,” George finished with an identical expression. 

McGonagall made them enter the class. 

“No need to ask you why you two are here,” teased Fred as he seated at his usual desk, George following him.

Olivia rolled her eyes at the twins and went to sit next to Andrew a couple desk further. McGonagall did not separate any of the pairs, but insisted that they all had to be silent while they worked on whatever homework they had. 

Liv opened her potions book to study a elixir Snape told them to look at, while Andrew worked on an essay for study of ancient runes. Sometimes, one of them would tease the other to distract them from work, slightly kicking the other or moving their arm as they tried to write something. They also exchanged little papers to discuss without getting caught, joking about whatever crossed their mind. Andrew put one of them on Liv's book, and with a smile she opened it.

_**Next time, let's be sure not to be caught.** _

Olivia's eyes widened and her cheeks became a lit bit more pink as she read the message. She turned to Andrew who had a stupid smile on his face, and leaned to his ear : 

“Yeah lets not.”

The boy cheek immediately imitated hers, and before McGonagall could catch them talking, they went back to their work, both smiling. 

_It’s so much better to think of Andrew than the other one,_ she couldn't help thinking.

But even this little mention of him brought back the face of her teacher she saw in her dream when she finally managed to think of something else. Liv was getting tired of it. 

Detention finally finished, and Olivia's mind was as much of a mess as before. She saluted the other person present in the room, and sprinted to the quidditch arena to make her brain focus on something else. Her teammates were already on their brooms, flying and practising. She waved at them from the ground before disappearing into the changing room. Five minutes later, she was on her uniform, and grabbed her broom. 

She left the ground and joined her teammates in the arena. After some stretching exercise, Marcus made the team simulate an attack. They all went in positions, and began. Liv and the other two main chasers passed the quaffle to each other, the opposite players trying to stop them. Olivia managed to get past the defence and entered the scoring area. Marcus threw her the quaffle, and she put herself in position to shoot. But at the same moment, the face of her teacher decided it was the best moment to pop in her head, and she missed the goal.. 

Marcus shouted at Olivia that it was an easy shot, which made her feel even worse. The team separated in multiple groups to exercise their specific positions, while Olivia stood next to the hoops, angry with herself. She slapped both hands on her cheeks to wake herself up. She couldn't go on like that any more.

_Just accept you are attracted to this man, and move on with your life !_ She ordered to herself as she flew back to the center of the arena.

But as she congratulated herself for the easy conclusion she probably should have had hours ago, she heard Mia shouting from afar. 

“Olivia !” 

Liv did not have time to react that something hit her, making her fall from her broom.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. It begins.  
> I loved writing this chapter because confused Olivia is so fun. I tried to show her thought process, I hope you liked it :) I gotta confess that her talking about Snape or Lucius really made me laugh even tho I wrote it. Also, first "hot" scene of this story, I hope I did a good job ;)
> 
> By the way, Happy Holidays to all of you, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrates it ! 
> 
> As it's the final chapter of 2020, I wanted to thank you for all the kudos and comments, it really warms my heart :) Seeing the little ( 1 ) in my inbox is the best moment of my day !
> 
> Thanks again, and see you in 2021 !


	14. I wish Madam Pomfrey was bad at her job

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

The funniest thing about falling from so high — if there is something funny about it — is the little gap of time between the moment you realize you are falling and the moment you finally reach the floor. In those little seconds, your brain is trying to comprehend what is happening. Olivia spent this short time watching her fellow teammates trying to reach her before her body could hit the floor, in vain. The scared face on their face was the last thing she saw before everything went black. 

The sudden unbearable pain reaching her as her back crashed against the floor made her close her eyes, and she only heard the worried screams of her friends around her.

“Someone fetches Hooch right now !” Was the last thing she heard before she passed out. 

Olivia only gained consciousness for what seemed an eternity later. She blinked a few times to accommodate her eyes to the brightness of the room. She wasn't at the quidditch stadium any more, the blue sky had been replaced by a dark ceiling. Her head felt dizzy. Unaware of where she was, she tried to look around, only to be stopped by a sudden pain on her back as she moved. She clenched her teeth as she immobilized herself to stop the painful discomfort. 

“Don't try to move,” said a voice a few meters away.

Madam Pomfrey entered her sight in her usual nurse uniform. Olivia immediately understood she was in the hospital wing of the castle. The memory of the fall made its way to her brain, and she understood why her body was aching so much. Madam Pomfrey helped her slowly sit in the bed, holding her back to reduce the pain. Once it was done, she offered Liv a glass of water. 

“Thank you,” the Slytherin said as she took a sip.

Her blue eyes glanced to the large windows of the room : It was dark outside. She must have spent the whole evening here. 

“You suffered a huge shock,” declared Pomfrey, “so I'm going to ask you some questions to see if your brain is fine.”

Olivia nodded.

“Can you tell me your full name ?” the adult asked, holding some sort of health record in her hand.

“Olivia Adeline Montgomery.”

The healer checked a box on her paper. 

“Do you know where you are ?”

“Hogwarts,” the student said, “in the hospital wing on the first floor.”

“Good. Last one, do you know what day we are ?”

“Thursday, November fourth.”

Madam Pomfrey looked up from her paper.

“It's Friday darling.”

Olivia frowned.

“No, it's Thursday,” she insisted. “I know it is, I had DADA a few hours ago.”

“Olivia, you were unconscious for a full day,” explained the healer.

The news made her stand straighter, which made her whole body hurt. 

“Calm down, it's okay,” reassured the old lady. “You hit the back of your head when you felt. Nothing that magic can heal, but your body needs to rest.”

Olivia assimilated the information. She missed a whole day of class. Then she remembered. 

“So the match is tomorrow ?”

Madam Pomfrey nodded as she finished writing on the document. She met the eyes full of hope of the student and immediately gave her an apologetic smile. 

“I'm sorry Olivia, but you won't play tomorrow. I can't allow it.”

The Slytherin let out a deep breath, making her chest hurt in the process. 

“Please ?” She begged.

“You are still recovering. It would be irresponsible from me to let you play in your condition.”

Madam Pomfrey ended the discussion, and went to check on another student in the infirmary. Olivia wanted to be mad at the lady, but she was only doing her job. Furthermore, she knew deep down that if she had to be on a broom right now, her body would not support it. She would just hurt herself even more.

Slowly, Liv went to lie down in her infirmary bed. Even though she hadn't been up for twenty-four hours, she still felt exhausted, and the pain wasn't helping. She pushed the sheets over her and closed her eyes, wishing that the accident was just a bad dream, and soon enough she fell asleep. 

Olivia spent a dreamless night, her mind finally giving her a break. She woke up when the sun began to shine through the big windows of the hospital wing. Soon after, madam Pomfrey went to check on her and to ask her if she slept well. The lady brought with her some breakfast, and Olivia realized that her stomach had been empty for way too long. She enthusiastically took a bit of some bread while the nurse verified she was healing correctly. Stubborn as she was, Olivia tried to ask her once more about playing today's game. Madam Pomfrey repeated what she said the evening before and Olivia accepted the decision for good. 

Once she was done with breakfast, the healer helped her stand up, and did some exercise with her to check her body. Her back was still sore, but the headache was disappearing. 

“You will stay here for another day,” decided the healer. “I want to be sure you will be okay.

Olivia didn't try to fight the decision of the lady. She still hoped she could cheer for her team today, but it seemed that she would have to ask for a recap instead. Madam Pomfrey let her use the bathroom of the wing, making her promise to yell for help if she suddenly felt bad. Olivia spent a long time under the warm shower, appreciating the calm and privacy she didn't have for what seemed an eternity. When she came out, she was surprised to find some of her clothes waiting for her next to the sink. She put them on, glad to get rid of her quidditch uniform. Not that it was dirty, madam Pomfrey made sure to take care of that with one of her spells, but because she was way more comfortable in one of her baggy sweat-shirts. Liv dried her hair with the help of her wand. The temperature was dropping outside, and she really didn't want to add a stupid cold to the list. 

Olivia came out of the bathroom, and went back to her bed, wondering how she was going to spend the day. As if Merlin heard her prayer, she was delighted to find Clara seated in a chair, waiting for her. When the purple haired Slytherin noticed her friend, she jumped in her arms.

“Easy,” Olivia warned when her back hurt due to the sudden movement.

Clara withdrew, an apologetic smile on her face. Liv sat on her bed, inviting her friend to do the same. 

“Could we just spend a week without making me worried about you ?” Clara requested.

“Sorry, but you must know I did not fall on purpose,” Liv responded with a smile.

“I know, I know… But still, you need to be more careful when you are so high in the sky. It's not like you to be distracted like that, what were you thinking about ?”

The face of Lupin appeared in her mind.

“Something stupid,” she admitted.

Clara raised one of her eyebrows, but did not ask for more. 

_I’ll tell you once I get over it, and you will have all the time in the world to laugh at me,_ Liv thought.

“So, how are you ?”

“Better, I should be back on my feet in no time.”

“That's good,” Clara said with a smile. “By the way, I have good news for you ! 

_Finally._

“With Malfoy and you being injured,'' Clara began, “it was too complicated for our team to play. So Marcus managed to convince madam Hooch to change the date of the game against Gryffindor. 

Olivia's eyes widened. 

“So that means…

“That you are not missing a match ! Instead, today's game will be Gryffindor against Hufflepuff !”

Liv was beaming. She took Clara in her arms, no matters the small pain in her spine. 

“I really needed that, thank you !” Liv exclaimed.

Clara made a little curtsy, making her friend laugh.

“You're welcome.”

Olivia put her pillow behind her back, seating a little more comfortably.

“Too bad, I won't be able to watch the game. Madam Pomfrey wants me to stay here.”

“Yeah I know,” said Clara, “she told me earlier. “That's why I'm here ! I'm not letting you get bored on a Saturday !”

“You are too good with me,” smiled Olivia. “But you should go, you need to cheer Oliver for both of us today.”

Clara pouted.

“Are you sure ?” She demanded. “What are you going to do all day by yourself ?”

“I don't know… Could you bring me some homework and my book before you go to the match ? You guys can come see me after, so we can celebrate his victory together.”

Clare insisted a few times that she was totally fine staying with her, but Olivia managed to convince her to go to the match. The encounter was only beginning this afternoon, so the two friends spent the remaining time together, chatting on the bed. Clara told her that she made her notes of everything she missed during Friday classes, and still took time to explain what every lesson was about to make sure Olivia understood. Oliver and Andrew did not come to see her, but Liv knew that the upcoming match was probably making them too busy. When lunch arrived, Madam Pomfrey accepted that Clara ate there with Olivia, and the two ended up eating pasta on the bed like it was a sleepover. 

Clara went to prepare for the game, and before leaving the castle, she gave Olivia what she asked earlier. Liv made her friend promise to cheer loud enough for both of them before she leaves, and now the hospital wing was as silent as this morning. Most of the other students in the infirmary were healthy enough to watch the game, and Olivia wished to be one of them. 

She was grateful for her team captain to have changed the date of her match against the lions, but she would have still preferred to be in the arena right now. It was her last year playing quidditch under the green and silver colours, and she wanted to be alongside her teammates as much as she could. She knew that madam Pomfrey was only doing what was best for her, but she also wished she understood why it was important for her to just be at the game, even if she was not a part of it. 

Right now, she should have been with Clara, their faces full of red and gold makeup to encourage Oliver and his team alongside Andrew. Sure, as the lions were their rival house, they knew their fellow serpent friends would be pissed at them for cheering for the Gryffindor team, but the two girls didn't care. When they were in the tribune, Olivia was happy to be the one shouting the loudest, no matter if it was not directed to a Slytherin. And Olivia knew she wasn't the only one. The good thing about spending so many years in Hogwarts is that the barrier between houses disappeared more and more with time. She didn't know anyone in her grade that was exclusively friends with only people from their house. After seven years, you obviously forged some friendship with other people. Sure the rivalry was still present when it was about the house cup or about quidditch, but one big party with all the houses was enough to forget all about it. 

Olivia grabbed one of the homework Clara kindly got her, and started working. Clara’s notes were easy to understand and Liv wondered if there was something she wasn’t good at. The afternoon went by slowly, and soon enough Liv was done with her work. 

The Slytherin did some exercises with Madam Pomfrey again, and she already felt better than this morning. The pain in her back had disappeared and the healer made the headache go away with a spell. Olivia went back to her bed, comfortably settling down under the cover. Outside, she heard a distant rumble of thunder, and wondered how the match was still going under this weather. She grabbed the book that was waiting for her on the bed stand ; a muggle classic that Liv and her mother really appreciated. She opened it where she left the bookmark a few days ago, and began to read those lines she almost knew by heart. 

But Liv didn't progress very far in her book before the door of the hospital wing brutally opened, breaking the usual calm of this room. She looked up from her book, surprised. The voice of Madam Pomfrey raised from the other side of the room :

“Bring him to this bed !” She ordered.

Multiple footsteps advanced to the bed next to hers, only separated by a privacy screen. She saw the figure of multiple people through it, still in the dark about what was happening. She recognized the shadow of Madam Pomfrey next to the bed and heard her casting some spell on the person that was just brought in. One of the people took a few steps back from the group and entered her sight. She directly recognized the red quidditch uniform and most importantly the ginger hair.

“Fred,” she whispered to him, “what happened ?”

The boy looked at her, surprised to see her. 

“Hey Olivia,” he greeted her with a smile as he walked to her bed. “There has been an incident at the end of the match with dementors. Harry fell off his broom.”

“Oh shit”, she said, closing her book. “Is he okay ?”

“He will be. He saw worse.”

Every student in this castle knew of the misadventures of the famous Boy who Lived, and Liv was grateful she had a more peaceful life.

“So, this is why we had to play against Hufflepuff ?” he mocked pointing at her bed. “Or was it a tactic to run away because you were too scared to face me ?”

“I could still beat your ass with my eyes closed,” she assured with a smile.

“Yeah, we’ll see that,” he said playing with his hair. “I better go back to check on him, see you later”. 

She waved him goodbye, and followed his figure joining the other member of his team behind the privacy screen. 

_Is Oliver among them ?_ Liv wondered. _He could at least come say hi._

In the following minutes, the door of the infirmary opened multiple times, more people going to his bedside. Not long after, Harry woke up to the relief of everyone here. The boy seemed lost so the member of his team did their best to reassure him. Olivia discovered at the same time as the boy that the Gryffindor team lost the game, and her thought directly went to her friend.

“Where is Wood?” said Harry, and Olivia understood he wasn’t there.

“Still in the showers,” said Fred. “We think he’s trying to drown himself.”

Olivia did her best to contain a chuckle at this thought. Oliver was one of the biggest drama queen when it came to quidditch. She was less discreet than she thought, because she saw one of the silhouettes turn around to look in her direction, but the screen blocked the person from seeing her. She stayed quiet the rest of the time. Liv heard the team talking about how they were going to win the cup, and Olivia felt like it was a conversation she wasn't supposed to hear. But Fred knew she was in the bed right next to them, so she knew he wasn't going to let them spill their secret tactic in front of her. 

The group was finally dismissed by madam Pomfrey around ten minutes later, and only a few people stayed. She recognized the voice of the youngest Weasley boy, and after searching a bit in her memory she understood that the feminine voice was probably their other friend Hermione. The two left soon after, and Harry was left alone with someone that Olivia was still trying to recognize through the screen.

“Harry, I’ve talked with Dumbledore earlier,” began the voice that she immediately recognized.

_Lupin._

“We both think it would be best if you learned how to defend yourself against dementors,” the DADA teacher continued. “They seem to get after you more than they should.”

“Are you going to teach me the spell you used to make them go away on the train ?'' Harry asked, obviously thrilled. 

Olivia immediately remembered the scene that had happened on the Hogwarts express and finally put the pieces together. Lupin had defeated dementors to help Harry, and the bright light they all saw must have been the spell he used. Liv wondered what would have happened if she had stayed in the same wagon as him. 

_Is he talking about the patronus charm ?_ She then wondered.

She knew this spell was way above Harry's level. Even her, as a seventh year, had never learned it. She wasn't even sure it was on the curriculum. Many wizards weren't able to produce one in their entire life, and he wanted to teach a third year how to do it ? 

_Playing favourite Mr lupin ?_

In a way, she was envious that someone so young could learn something so interesting. She noted in the corner of her mind to research a bit more about it to see if she could learn it with Clara in their free time. She listened to their discussion for a few more minutes, noticing how kind and affectionate Lupin seemed toward the Gryffindor. Liv had never heard him talking like that. She sighed, knowing deep down she was the main reason he was cold toward her, and opened her book.

Olivia didn't hear the teacher saluting Harry, and only noticed his departure when she caught something moving in the corner of her eyes. She raised her head and saw him walking in the opposite direction of the exit, past her bed. He was probably on his way to Madam Pomfrey's office when he stopped at her sight. He didn't seem surprised, and she wondered if he had recognized her earlier when she was laughing. His green eyes met Olivia’s, and she realized she hadn't seen him since this stupid dream. She probably blushed and hoped the man didn't notice. 

“Hi,” Lupin said, turning completely in her direction.

The Slytherin blinked, she wasn't expecting him to start a conversation.

‘Hi,” she simply responded.

He looked tired, as if he had been ill once again. His robes were hanging more loosely and him, like he had picked clothes that were too big for him. He wasn't looking at Olivia with his usual cold eyes, probably too exhausted to be angry at anyone. He took a few steps in her direction and broke the awkward silence.

“Why are you here ?” He asked.

His tone was calm, and he seemed truly interested in the answer.

“I fell during practice,” Liv explained without breaking eye contact. 

“Oh.” He paused. “Are you okay ?”

She nodded. 

“That's good.”

His gaze fell on the book she had closed once again, then went back to her face. He smiled kindly at her, and passed his hand on his hair. Olivia almost bite her lips at this sight.

_He truly is handsome._

There was no point in denying it any more. She just had to accept she found the man attractive. It would pass eventually. Olivia realized it was the first time of the year that they had a normal conversation without any tension whatsoever. It felt nice. 

Lupin was opening his mouth to say something when the door of the hospital wing opened. Olivia finally let her eyes off her teacher's face to discover Andrew coming to her bed. He looked up to Lupin, surprised to find him here. 

“Professor.”

“Mister Sharman”, he greeted back politely.

Andrew turned to Olivia and immediately took her in his arms. 

“I missed you,” he said. 

Surprised, she hugged him back. The teacher looked away from them, and put his hands in the pocket of his robes.

“Rest well,” He said softly.

Lupin disappeared before she could say anything, and she heard the door of the infirmary shutting once more.

Andrew let go of her arms and sat at the edge of his bed. 

“What did he want ?”

“I don't know,” admitted Olivia, still confused by their small discussion.

The Gryffindor shrugged.

“Sorry I couldn't come earlier, Oliver was going crazy about the game.”

“I understand don't worry”, she said with a smile. “How is he doing ?”

“I got him out of the shower, I think he's crying in his bed right now.”

Even if she felt bad for him, she couldn't help the corner of her lips to rise up. Andrew soon copied her smile. Like all the other people she saw this day, he asked her how she was doing and was happy to know that she would be back on her feet tomorrow morning. After talking about each other day, Andrew leaned to press his lips against hers. She kissed him happily, but noticed that the black haired wouldn't deepen the kiss very much. She couldn't help to wish that he did. The memory of the dream began to form in her mind, but she quickly chased it away.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Them not being rude to each other ? wow... 
> 
> Happy new year ! I wish you all the best !  
> I hope this year to be able to wrote you the best stories I can ! Thank you for being on this journey with me :)


	15. Pride and Prejudice

**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

“Pass me some Mandrake root”

Olivia grabbed the ingredient from one of the shells and gave it to professor Snape. The head of Slytherin didn't thank her, too focused on the potion he was making, but Liv was used to it. 

Snape had been asked by Madam Pomfrey to brew some pepperup potions to fill up her stock before winter. The healer knew that with the temperature dropping, the medecine against the common cold was going to be useful. So, after their potions class, the teacher had asked Olivia to stay a little longer to help him as his assistant. The Slytherin knew that the potions master didn't really need anyone to help him, but that he was doing that to give her some work experience if she decided to pursue in this field. Luckily for Liv, on Monday, potions was her last class, and had some free time before she had to go to detention, so she happily stayed. 

Clara was used to this kind of thing, and let her with the potions master before going to her next class. The two friends decided to directly meet at the great hall this evening, making it easier for both of them.

She helped the potions master in different ways : bringing the ingredients he needed, measuring them, and when the potions were done, by putting them in phials. On some occasions, Snape let her go fetch some ingredients among the hundreds of jars he kept in his office. He didn't let anyone in, so Olivia always felt honoured when he let her access the room. He even let her the key to his private storeroom once, and that was the day she realized he really trusted her.

The twins tried to convince her multiple times to steal some ingredients for their pranks, but she refused. Once, Snape would immediately know she was the thief, second, she was doing her best not to fail him. Instead, she might have helped them steal some stuff from Flinch office, but that's a story for another day.

Snape took his wand out of his dark robes and casted the spell to complete the potion. It looked so easy when he was the one doing it. Liv began to transfer the potion onto the glass phials she had prepared. Snape kept his eyes on her as she worked, making sure she wasn't messing anything up in the process. She didn't, and after completing a dozen of containers, she was finally done. Snape nodded appreciatively, and put the empty cauldron away with an effortless wand movement.

“Here we go,” Liv said as she closed the last phials.

Snape opened the door of his office and entered the room. Olivia followed him with the rest of the ingredients he didn't use. She put the Bicorn Horn on the shelf where it's supposed to be, and turned to the professor. 

“Anything else I can do ?”

The head of the Slytherin house was looking at some papers laying on his desk.

“I don’t think so.”

Olivia looked around her, taking time to appreciate all the rare ingredients around her. As she approached the desk, her eyes fell on a bottle in the corner of the room. It was put away as if professor Snape didn't care about it. The glass was too opaque for her to discern what was inside, so she did not care very much. When he was finally done, Snape and her made their way back to the classroom, and Olivia looked at the vials.

“Do you want me to bring them to Madam Pomfrey ?” She proposed.

Snape looked at her with a surprised look.

“Don't you have anywhere you need to be ?”

“What do you mean ?” She paused. “Oh fuck, detention !”

Snape raised his eyebrows at the vulgarity, but Liv didn't seem to care. She quickly grabbed her books she left in the classroom before racing to the door. 

“Goodbye professor” she hastily said before disappearing in the hallway.

Her books against her chest and her wand in her other hand, Olivia ran across the castle, hating herself for not checking the time. She had never run this much in her life before this school year, and she hated it. Lucky enough, the grand staircase didn't make it any harder for her by moving at the last second like it usually does. Soon enough, she was on the first floor, and she barged into the DADA classroom.

“I'm sorry I'm late !” She shouted as she brutally opened the door. 

Lupin had stood up at his desk, surprised by her grand entrance. His wand in hand, prepared to face whatever entered the room. But when he saw the girl, pressed against the door trying to catch her breath like she had just played a three-hour-long quidditch match, he put his wand back on his wooden desk. 

“I'm sorry,” she repeated when she finally caught her breath. “I was with professor Snape and-”

“It’s okay,” he said as he invited her to sit.

Lupin sat back on his chair, his eyes still on his student. Olivia went to her usual desk, and put her books down on the table. When she finally felt back to her normal state, she looked up, and met his eyes. The event of what happened one week ago flew back to her mind, and she wondered if he was going to mention it. Luckily, he didn't. 

“Use this time to work on any homework you have,” he said, breaking the silence of the room. 

Olivia nodded, and directly went to work. But unlike last week, she didn't have much homework to do. Clara and her did most of them on Sunday. So she just finished the conclusion she had to do for a paper in herbology, and she was soon done. 

Olivia wasn't going to ask Lupin to go early like last week, she didn't want to cause a similar scene. Even more because of the aftermath of this altercation. She was finally at peace with what happened, but that didn't mean she wanted to be reminded of it every time she saw him. Liv knew she was going to have some free time during this detention, so she had prepared a book to pass time. With the eruption of Harry and everyone after him on Saturday, she didn't have time to finish her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_. She knew the story by heart, having read this classic of Jane Austen a dozen of times since her mother offered her the book on her tenth birthday. Still, this book comforted her like no other. But as she opened the book in search of her bookmark, Lupin distracted her by making his quill fall on the ground. 

Olivia watched him bend over to grab it, realizing how better he looked than when they talked in the hospital wing. He was wearing his usual jumper, the one he loved to roll up the sleeves to free his arms. As he rose back, she watched him pass his hand in his hair, something Olivia noticed he particularly loved to do. 

Her gaze on him might have been too obvious, because Lupin suddenly looked up, locking eyes with her. Olivia broke it immediately, and dived into her novel. But as she turned a page a few seconds later, he interrupted her. 

“I didn't expect you to read Jane Austen,” Lupin said

Olivia locked eyes back with him, surprised that he was engaging the conversation once more. She immediately understood that he didn't mean that in a pejorative way ; his eyes were filled with curiosity. He was not saying he took her for an uncultured swine, but that he was truly surprised to see her with this particular book. 

“Not many wizards like to read muggle classics those days”, he continued. 

“Well, it's only because most of them are twats that think that anything muggle related is not worth their time.” 

He nodded at her remark, a grin beginning to form on his face. Olivia couldn't help but be a little proud to be the reason for its presence. Lupin put his quill down, and the Slytherin understood as a sign to continue the conversation. 

“I didn't expect you to know about Jane Austen.” she said back. 

She worried for a second that he was going to take it bad, breaking the unusual good mood between them. It was so rare that the two of them were not arguing or at each other's throat, and she wanted to continue on this unfamiliar path.

“Did you indirectly call me a twat ?” He said dead serious.

Olivia opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off before she could. His face became immediately softer.

“I'm joking, I know that's not what you mean…” he paused before raising an eyebrow. “Unless ?”

The Slytherin grinned for an answer, which seemed to amuse Lupin even more. He let a little laugh escape his lips. 

Olivia didn't consider herself to be a dreamy girl, but she had to admit his laugh was a sound she was going to remember. It was low, but it resonated in her ears. She blamed this on the fact that it was her first time hearing it. And at this moment, she only wished to hear it more. 

She mentally slapped herself to collect her thoughts, hating the man in front of her for making her feel like a twelve years old. She focused back on the conversation as Lupin continued. 

“I'm actually fond of muggle literature. I have a large library of them in my office that can prove it,” he said pointing his thumb above his shoulder in the direction of the door behind him. 

Olivia looked at the door on top of the staircase, curious to see the library, but also the room itself. She had never seen what Lupin had done with this room this year. He probably redecorated the place as such as the classroom. He didn't seem to be the type of guy to have a dozen of self-portraits like Lockhart had last year. She realized that in a way, it was a miracle she never had been in his office since everything that had happened. Maybe he was hiding a dart target with her face on it, and that's why he never asked her in his office. 

“As a matter of fact,” he continued leaning back in his chair, making her look back at him. “I enjoy many muggle things, especially art. Films, music… They are great at those.”

Olivia nodded, agreeing with everything he listed. 

“That makes us something in common.”

“Finally,” he said with a light smile on his lips. 

Olivia smiled back. She understood he was as much surprised as she was of their discussion. Both of them being civil with each other and sharing an interest ? Clara’s jaw would be on the floor. 

“What caused your interest?”

Many wizards she knew were curious about muggles and the world they were part of, like Mr Weasley. She remembers him asking all sorts of things to her mom the last time the two of them encountered each other. Lupin looked up to the ceiling, thoughtful. He seemed hesitant, unsure if he should share a part of his private life with this particular student. One week ago, he would have laughed at the bare thought. 

“My mother was a muggle,” he finally confessed, his eyes still on the dragon skeleton above them. 

Olivia paused. It was the first personal info she discovered about him. And she immediately understood he told her to prove his good faith. So she decided to share some part of her life too. He was taking a step in her direction, it was her turn to return the favour. 

“So is mine,” she finally said. 

Her heart flinched at the use of the present time, but it was still too painful for her to acknowledge it out loud. She could do it with Clara, or the boys, but Lupin was not someone she wanted to be vulnerable in front of. 

Lupin looked back at Olivia, straightening in his chair. 

“Really ?” he said with eyes filled with surprise. 

“Yes.”

He nodded a little, processing the information before saying with a smile :

“One more thing we have in common.”

In less than five minutes the two of them were already discovering the other one better than in the last two month. Maybe if they didn't have such a rough start, they would have a parchment full of things they shared by now. 

After a short silence spent looking at each other, both of them seemed to not want to deepen into their family history, so Lupin changed the subject. 

“What else have you read ?” The teacher asked, looking at the book still in her hand.

Olivia closed it, looking at the cover while thinking for her answer.

“Hum… I read a lot of things, it's hard to list them all” she said. “I read a lot when I was younger, but lately, not so much.”

“Why so ?”

“You know, school and everything,” she said dismissively, looking at the window.

Liv wasn't really lying, school made her read less every year passing by. But it was not the only reason, and Lupin was not stupid. He knew she did not say the whole truth, but did not ask more. Did it just not care for the truth or was it by respect, she couldn't tell. 

“Did you read other work by Austen ?” he asked, changing the subject once again. 

“I have !” Olivia immediately beamed thinking of some of her favorite books. “I really appreciate _Emma_ and _Persuasion_.”

“Yes, they sure are good. She truly was a brilliant writer, ahead of her time.”

Olivia nodded, appreciative of her teacher's taste.

“Have you read Shakespeare ?” He asked. 

“A few, only his more famous works.”

“That's great already,” he said with a smile.

Olivia couldn't help but be happy to discover a new facet of her professor. Lupin looked even more passionate talking about literature than when he was teaching DADA.

“What about Dickens ?” He asked. 

“I'm not gonna lie, _Bleak house_ took me multiple reads. Too many characters,” she answered with a smile on her lips.

“Funny, it's why I like it. Virginia Woolf ?”

“Read _To the lighthouse_ in one night last year. Blew my mind.”

Lupin nodded again, more and more surprised with the girl in front of him. 

“Brontë ?”

“ _Jane Eyre_ made the feminist I am today.”

The corner of his mouth began to form a grin as he frowned. Did she read everything he was going to propose ? 

“Orwell ?”

Olivia smiled. Who did he think she was ?

“Careful,” she said obviously amused, “Big brother is watching you.”

“Shelley ?”

Olivia had to think for a second to remember who that was, which Lupin almost took as it victory before she opened her mouth. 

“Ah _Frankenstein_ ! Of course ! I’m too used calling her Mary Goldwin, I guess,” she mocked proudly. 

Lupin's grin grew bigger, annoyed and entertained at the same time. He really didn't expect her to have read so many classics. 

“Wilde ?”

Olivia straightened in her chair, and spoke with a dramatic voice. 

_“_ The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame,” she quoted like it was nothing.

Lupin passed a hand through his hair, looking truly impressed. He put his head back a little, looking up, displaying the lines of his neck better than never. He bit his bottom lips as he was thinking of his next phrase, which Olivia immediately noticed. 

_Merlin, why are you testing me like that ?_

“Do you just happen to know _The portrait of Dorian Gray_ by heart ?” he questioned.

To be fair Olivia had read this book a lot when she was in third year. When she had heard that this book was banned for a long time, curiosity took over. She then became fascinated by the story, as much as Henry was fascinated with Dorian. Liv found herself in Dorian more than once, both facing the fear of growing old. Wilde was also a big part of her interest, always wondering if the man could have been a wizard due to the subtle use of magic he wrote in his book.

“Lets just say that I’m good at remembering quotes,” Liv claimed with a proud smile.

“If only you remembered my lessons like that,” he remarked.

Olivia's smile instantly dropped which made Lupin burst out laughing on his chair. She would have been offended if she hadn't been too focused on what sounded like a melody to her ear.

“Don't worry, I’m messing with you,” he chuckled. “You are doing better than I thought in my class.” 

Lupin wasn't even trying to hide what he was implying. He thought she would fail his class, and she was sure there was time he wished she did. 

_Let's hope today changes that._

Liv didn't blame him, if the role were inverted, she would have hoped the same about him. The Slytherin knew that deep down she would have used her authority to fail him more than once. Good thing she wasn't the teacher here.

Lupin gained back his composure, still proud of the stupid joke he made. 

“So I guess you probably read Conan Doyle too ?” He asked her. 

Olivia didn't respond immediately, searching for a way out. And as if Lupin knew her for ages, he read his silence way too easily. 

“What ?!” He exclaimed, almost standing up from his chair. “You didn't ?”

“Well,” she began, but Lupin cut her off once more.

_He better stop doing that,_ Olivia mocked in her mind.

_“_ You didn't read any adventures of Sherlock Holmes ?! Why ?”

Olivia sighed, preparing her argument she already knew he was going to dismiss. 

“It’s just… I don't find it appealing,” she confessed. “Like, every story sounds the same. A murder, Sherlock Holmes is a genius and find the culprit. The end.”

Liv looked at her professor and couldn't help a chuckle. Lupin looked truly offended, like she had just insulted everything he stood for in two sentences. He had looked less shocked when she left in the middle of his class at the beginning of the year. 

“I can't believe you said that,” he said, shaking his head. 

Her mouth curved into a smile.

“I guess you will have to change my mind.”

“I will.” he promised

And with those words, the mutual understanding they would talk like that again. The possibility of a similar discussion in a near future gave Olivia a smile. She looked at him, and he smiled back. It was the first time this year she felt so at ease with him. 

Lupin looked at the window, soon followed by her student. None of them had realized that the sun had disappeared for a bit of time now. 

“It’s getting late,” Lupin finally said. “I think it’s time for me to let you go.”

Olivia nodded, and put her stuff together. She stood up with her book against her chest, and walked to the door. As she opened it, she looked back and directly met the eyes of Lupin. 

“Goodbye professor.”

Lupin's lips grew into a soft smile, before responding in a low voice.

“Goodbye.”

With a final look at him, Olivia left the classroom. Even in the hallway, a smile was still plastered on her lips. In a way, she was beginning to discover why professor Lupin was so respected among her classmates. And maybe she could begin to really appreciate him too ?

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter talks about three of my favorite things : Lupin, Pride and Prejudice and Sherlock Holmes. So, it was so amazing to write.The two of them are getting to know each other, finally... Things are starting to get better but don't worry, it won't be so easy ;)  
> Please tell me if you enjoyed it :)
> 
> (PS : I'm actually looking for a beta for this story. If that's something you could be interested in, please dm me !)


	16. Bad day

**Chapter Sixteen :**

* * *

The rest of the week passed in the blink of an eye. Olivia and her classmates were crawling under homework. All the teachers gave them essays and stuff to work on, not really caring about their level of fatigue. Olivia spent her whole weekend like everyone else, working her ass off. The stress made her sleep badly, and the bags under her eyes could testify. 

Sunday evening, even with the kind help of Clara, Liv wasn't done with half she had to do for Monday. If it wasn't for her friend dragging her, she would have spent dinner time working. She arrived at the diner hall with Clara, rambling about how she was already so much behind, but the purple haired Slytherin didn't care. 

“You need to eat,” she simply stated. 

Olivia knew she was right but still. She was losing time. The two friends sat at the Slytherin table, alongside the other seventh year, all looking tired. Olivia looked around, and all the other students of her age looked all the same, no matter their house. Olivia caught Andrew half asleep on his plate, next to Olivier who didn't look better. She sighed at the sight of the black haired Slytherin. They hadn't had time together in a long time, and she was missing him a little. 

She put some ham and potatoes in her plate and began to eat in silence, her mind already back on all the work she had to do later. Clara was in the same mood, and they spent the meal both in their thoughts. When the dessert appeared on the tables, the voice of Dumbledore rose in the great hall. 

“Dear students,” he began as everyone turned to face him. “I hope you are enjoying your meal.”

People smiled at him in response. 

“Just a quick announcement to our last year students,” he continued.

Everyone is Olivia's year immediately focused on the headmaster, and she wasn't an exception. Some younger students went back to their meal, while some of them were still interested.

“Tomorrow, you will meet your head of houses for an interview concerning your future after Hogwarts. They are mandatory. You will be informed of the schedule through your prefect later.” He smiled kindly. “That’s it, enjoy the rest of the meal.”

People nodded at the announcement and Olivia rolled her eyes. She really didn't need that right now. Her eyes slid on the staff table, and landed on Snape. She was already sure it was going to be a pain in the ass. She glanced at the scarred professor next to the potions master, but stopped before he could see her. Liv sighed and Clara gave her an understanding look, and as soon as they were done, they walked back to their house. 

Olivia spent the following hours working, only taking a break to jump in the shower. She quickly thanked Clara for forcing her to eat, because she realized her body would have turned off if she hadn't. Then, she wrote a full essay in transfiguration, prepared notes for the potion they probably would have to do tomorrow, and casted some charms to be sure she was good enough if Flitwick asked her to demonstrate. Unfortunately, Liv had a lot of trouble with the questions they had to do in herbology for tomorrow, and only after hours of swearing under her breath, she was finally done. 

She stretched, and looked around. Mia had been sleeping for a long time now, too tired to complete all they had to do, and Clara had finished everything a few hours ago and was fully under her blankets. Liv turned to her night stand and her eyes widened at her watch. 

“Five AM ?” She growled quietly. “Fuck me.”

She let her back fall into her bed, not even caring about the books all over it. Her muscles finally relaxed, and as soon she closed her eyes, she fell asleep. 

  
  


Liv loved Clara, truly. But when the purple haired girl woke her only three hours later, she could have hexed her. She turned on her bed, putting her face against her pillow. Maybe she could collapse due to the lack of oxygen and miss class ? But Clara didn't let it happen, and forced her to wake up completely. The day was already bad, and the sun wasn't even completely up. Her mind was still very foggy, so she was glad her body completed her usual morning task without thinking. 

When she got out of the shower, all the stupid grudge she had against Clara disappeared : her friend had kindly prepared all her books for the day. She was looking better than Olivia for sure, but Liv knew that she was as tired as her. She thanked her in a tight hug, and they left the dorm accompanied by Mia.

On the way, one of the prefects had given them the schedule for the interview. Many Slytherin were scheduled during the potion class this afternoon. Snape had cancelled his class to meet with the students, but directly said he would give them an essay to do to catch up with today's lesson. Mia was one of the first to go, and Olivia was one of the last one, Clara just after her.

The trio quickly ate their breakfast, and made their way to herbology. Olivia discovered that half the answers she had worked on last night were false, which wasn't helping her mood. She was so tired, and didn't even try to follow the class after that. 

Charms went better, in the way that she wasn't picked to show if she could cast the charms they were working on correctly. Clara still had to hit her with her elbows every time she was about to fall asleep in the middle of the class. Flitwick probably noticed her dozing off, but as she wasn't the only one in this state, he kindly let it slide. 

The two girls met Olivier and Andrew at lunch, and ate with them. Olivier found the strength to talk about quidditch, and Olivia remembered how badly she had played at her last practice. Mia, Marcus, and her were exhausted, and they didn't even finish the training exercise they had planned. Olivia even got defeated by a fourth year, which she absolutely hated. 

When it was time to go back to class, Olivia took Andrew apart before they had to part way. She put her hand on his cheek and pressed her lips against his. She didn't have time to kiss him deeper that he took a step back breaking the contact. 

“Sorry I have to go,” he apologized. “I don't want to be late.”

And just like that, he left her. Clara who had seen the whole scene approached Olivia. 

“What was that about ?” She asked. 

Olivia shrugged, confused, but also a little pissed by what just happened. There was no reason for Andrew to act so distant. She put that aside and followed her friend to transfiguration. McGonagall's lesson was interesting, as always, which made it easier to focus. The class went by, and Clara and Olivia decided to accompany Mia for her interview. 

They chatted a little in the dungeon before it was time for Mia to go in. The two girls waited close to Snape's office, studying or talking with their fellow house members waiting with them. Mia got out after a dozen of minutes and invited the next one to go inside. One by one, the serpents entered the office. Some interviews were quick, others not so much, and Olivia already knew hers wasn't going to be the first option. 

They had been there for quite some time when finally, Arnold, one of Marcus' friends, got out of the office and told Olivia to go inside. Clara gave her a kind smile before she disappeared, closing the door behind her. Snape was waiting at his desk, and invited Olivia to sit in front of him. She did her best to keep a neutral face, she didn't want to seem nervous for such a simple subject. 

The head of the Slytherin house searched for a few seconds among the papers on his desk. He quickly read it when he finally found it before reporting his attention to Olivia. 

“Well,” he began, “I see in this paper that you wanted to be a Curse Breaker a few years ago. Is it still the case ? 

He put down the paper and Olivia recognized the essay they had to do in their fifth year concerning their future. She had written down the first thing that had crossed her mind at the time, and a curse breaker sounded pretty cool. Percy loved to talk about his oldest brother who was one, Bill, to anyone who would listen, and Olivia loved listening to those stories.

“Not really,” she responded, “wasn't serious about it anyway.”

“That's what I thought,” he said. “So, what are your plans after leaving Hogwarts ?” 

Olivia sighed, before deciding she didn't have any reason not to be honest with her teacher. 

“I have no idea sir.”

Snape raised an eyebrow, surprised. 

“I see. But that's what those meetings are for, so let's think about it together.”

She nodded, almost surprised at the kind tone he was using. 

“You did great in all your O.W.L if I remember correctly. Outstanding in potions and charms right ?”

“Yes, and Exceeds Expectations in all the others, “ she added quite proudly.

“What subject are you taking for newts ?”

“Potions, obviously.” She said immediately which almost made him grin. “Charms, Transfigurations, DADA and Herbology.”

“So core class only right ? Didn't you take Alchemy last year ?”

“I dropped it,” she confessed sadly. “It was a bit too much for me with… everything going on.”

Snape looked at his student thoughtfully. Olivia knew that she wasn't bluffing anyone, but Snape had the decency not to talk about it. 

“That's too bad, I heard you had potential.”

She thanked him with a little smile, looking at her feet.

“You could always find some way to learn more later in your life, don't think that leaving Hogwarts means you have to stop learning.”

“Of course not,” she looked back at him.

The corner of Snape’s mouth lifted a little before he continued. 

“I heard Madam Hooch saying great things about your quidditch ability. She thinks you could play professionally. And even If I am not a big fan of this sport, I saw you play, and I think so too.”

Olivia didn't expect him to compliment her about quidditch, and was immediately flustered. 

“Thank you sir.”

“Did you think about it ?”

“Well, yes. My friend Olivier wants to be a professional, and it made me think about it too. But I'm not sure if I want to play all my life, and there are so many other good players. Why would a team choose me ? Even so, I'm not sure it would suit me. 

He nodded at her.

“What about potion ?” He asked leaning back in his chair, immediately more interested. 

“I love it truly. It's my favourite subject,“ she proclaimed. “I could see myself working in this field. Maybe even have my own store. ”

This time, he didn't hide his smile, but it faded quickly when he added.

“But ?”

She took a few seconds to think about her next word. 

“It's like everything else. It sounds great on paper, but what if I regret it ? What if I realize years later that it was not what I was supposed to do ?”

Snape looked at her, searching for the right answer. 

“Well… this is a complex question Miss Montegomry. Doubts are part of life, it always has been. You could end up regretting every single decision in your life, but it's what makes it so complex. I'm afraid no one can be sure what the future will be about, and those doubts will always follow you. Maybe you will regret it, maybe not. Time will tell, so you must take a leap of faith.”

His response surprised Olivia. It was in those situations that she did not understand why everyone thought the man in front of her was a bad teacher. Sure, he was complicated to be around sometimes, but he could also be so much more.

“Do you have any regrets ?” she suddenly wondered.

Snape seemed taken aback by her question. His mind went elsewhere for a few seconds before he responded quietly, almost for himself.

“Plenty.”

For a few seconds sadness crossed his face, a sight Olivia had never see on him. His expression quickly went back to his usual grumpy one, and Olivia understood that the subject was over. 

“Do I have to know immediately ? I’m still young after all. Can I take time after school to discover what I want ?” She asked curiously. “I always wanted to see the world,”

“This is also an option,” he said, not really convinced by her proposition. “In any case, you should do your best in your NEWT, whatever you decide to do afterward. Be sure not to close any doors you could need later. “

Olivia nodded. She didn't plan to do differently anyway. She thought the interview was coming to an end when Snape asked her something she didn't expect. 

“Have you talked with your father about it ?”

Olivia blinked, not expecting the mention of her dad.

“No, Not really.” she said, keeping her voice as neutral as she could. 

“Why ?” Snape inquired.

_ Because he doesn't care ?  _

“He’s busy.”

Snape shifted in his chair, as if he was uncomfortable with what he was about to say.

“I supposed that with…” he paused searching for the right word, ”what happened last year, it must be complicated for you…”

Olivia's heart began to beat faster : she really didn't want to talk about it. 

“I'm okay, '' she stated, more for herself than for the teacher.

Snape did something with his mouth, something he was obviously not used to doing. Some kind of compassionate smile probably ? If it was supposed to cheer her up, it failed. An uncomfortable chill traversed her spine as she looked at her professor. That was the last thing she wanted to see in Snape's eyes, she didn't even think he was capable of it, but here it was : pity. Her chest hurt a little. 

Snape probably wasn't doing it on purpose. None of the teachers did it on purpose, but she saw it in their eyes sometimes. The weird sympathy they suddenly had for her. It made her so uncomfortable. She was still the same person as always, she didn't ask them to act different like that. 

“Are we done ?” She asked a bit harsher than she wanted.

Snape didn't seem to mind. 

“Yes, you can go. We will have another talk later this year anyway.”

Olivia didn't even say goodbye and left the room in a hurry. It was beginning to be hard for her to breath. 

She met Clara in the hallway, but didn't say anything. She walked past her, and disappeared into a corridor. Clara couldn't follow her, she was next for the interview, but she knew they would have to talk later.

She found an empty corridor and leaned against the wall. Her hand pressed against her chest, she was doing her best to breathe correctly. She knew the symptom of a panic attack, and it was probably one. She didn't know how long she stayed there, her eyes closed, doing breathing exercise to calm herself. When she finally felt better, she looked at the nearest clock she could find. 

“Fuck,” she gasped.

_ Detention. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, most of you probably understood what is the event that seems to shake Olivia. I didn't really hide it, but I still didn't literally say it so.. You will have confirmation. next chapter ! ;)  
> Also, she really need to use a spell to remind her when she had detention, like girl...   
> I had to cut this chapter in two because it was very long. The next one is still twice the usual length, lets say I'm inspired lately !   
> I hope you still like this story :)


	17. Remember to breath

**Chapter Seventeen :**

* * *

This time, Olivia didn't run. She just accepted she was going to be late and didn't care about it. Everything was starting to be too much around her. Homework, quidditch N.E.W.T, her future or even Andrew. Her head was hurting with every step she was taking. 

The door of the DADA classroom appeared, just a few meters away.

Since their discussion about literature a week ago, the encounters with Lupin were becoming more and more pleasant. It was small for sure, barely noticeable for anyone else, but it was here. He didn't ignore her in class like he used to, and the dark looks between them had stopped when they crossed each other in the corridor. Only Clara had noticed it, and when she asked her, Olivia only shrugged for a response. 

They didn't have time to talk last Thursday at her last detention because she was too busy with homework. But the atmosphere was drastically different. But both of them recognized how it was nicer to work when the other one wasn't insulting you under their breath. 

Olivia didn't knock and directly opened the door of the classroom. Professor Lupin was standing in a corner of the room, and turned to face her, a startled expression on his face. His features relaxed at her sight, and he took a few steps in her direction.

“Miss Montgomery,” he said. “How nice of you to join me.”

If Olivia hasn't been too focused on the annoying buzzing in the back of her head, she probably would have noticed the subtle joking tone he just used. Instead, she just felt pissed at him. She closed the door after her, a bit harder than she should have. Lupin raised an eyebrow, surprised. 

“I don't really have a choice, do I ?” she snapped, already sitting at her usual seat. 

Lupin's eyes widened at her unexpected bad mood.

“You need to stop being late,” he said in a serious voice. 

Lupin didn't really care that she had arrived late. He was aware of the interviews all the seventh students had today, and knew hers could overlap with her detention. He just didn't appreciate her tone.

“Whatever.”

Olivia would only comprehend what happened later, when this scene would be playing in her head late at night. Lupin was surprised — a little hurt even ?- to see that the nice atmosphere that was beginning to take place among the two had disappeared. That the mutual respect that was growing between them had already shattered. That's why he acted like he did.

But today was not her day, or even her week. Too many emotions were boiling in her mind, and were only asking to get out. Olivia was opening her book, trying to get over this detention as fast as she could when she heard his footsteps getting closer to her. 

“Get up.”

She looked up at him, and locked his green eyes with hers. 

“What ?”

He was standing next to her desk, his arms crossed against his chest. His eyes were severe.

“Get Up. Today, you're not going to do homework.”

Olivia did what he asked, her head hurting too much for her to find a reason not to. She did roll her eyes, which he definitely noticed. Lupin walked away and took a minute to search among some of the things that were stacked at the back of his classroom. He finally took off a sheet only for Olivia to discover something she had already seen before. The wardrobe of the boggart. She turned to look at Lupin.

_ Really ? Of all days ?  _

She put all the anger she had at this moment in her gaze toward him, but he didn't seem to care. Even so, it only seemed to convince him even more.

“You're going to face your boggart.” he explained as if it wasn't obvious.

Olivia wondered if she could find a way to dodge this one, but Lupin gave her a look to dissuade her, as if he already knew she would try. In an absolute silence, she walked to the front of the class. They could hear the boggart scratching the inside of the wardrobe.

“Do I really have too ?” She asked as a last resort. 

Her voice was a little nervous, and she hoped he couldn't see it. Lupin looked at her, and with the superior tone Olivia hated since the beginning of the year he said :

“In case you forgot once again, I am the one who decides how you spend your detention. All your classmates did it, I don't see why you should be an exception.”

He looked at the wardrobe, then back to Olivia. 

“In position,’” he ordered.

Her right foot forward, and her wand waiting in her hand, she shook her head to try to focus. Lupin asked her with a look if she was ready, and even if she didn't know if she could ever be, she nodded. 

Lupin took a few steps back, so he wasn't in the way and without stopping to look at her, he snapped his finger. Olivia didn't have time to note the fact that he used wandless magic once again that the wardrobe door opened. Olivia didn't dare to blink as something was getting out, making the closet squeak slightly.

It was a hand first. Slime, a few rings on the finger. Olivia's breath got faster as she recognized the wedding ring it was wearing. Immediately, she knew what her boggart was going to be. 

Then, a whole person got out of the wardrobe. It was a tall woman, with long dark hair similar to Olivia. She was pale, her skin almost as white as the snow. She was wearing a typical hospital gown, and Olivia's eyes immediately became watery at this sight. 

“Use riddikulus” she heard Lupin say a fem meters to her right, but she was too terrified to proceed anything

The woman walked slowly toward Olivia, as if her whole body wasn't correctly functioning. With every step she was taking, some of her black hair was falling to the floor. 

“Olivia,” the boggart said in a hoarse voice. 

The Slytherin who was until now fighting them, let a tear roll across her cheek. How long has it been since she heard this voice ? Too long. People say that the voice is the first thing you forget about someone. Liv never forgot this one.

The woman was now only a meter away from Olivia, and Lupin had now grabbed his wand. He repeated the counter spell one more time to his student, but it was as if she couldn't hear him. 

“Why didn't you save me ?” Asked the woman now terribly close to Liv. “Why are you so useless ?” 

Before Olivia couldn't respond anything, the now bald woman grabbed her throat, choking her. The boggart was stronger than it seemed, and she felt her feet leaving the floor. Liv closed her eyes due to the pain, and barely managed to whisper :

“Mom…”

A second later, she heard Lupin yell Riddikulus, and she fell back on the floor. Focused on gaining back her ability to breath and her eyes flooded with tears, she only managed to see the boggart turn into a glowing orb before her teacher sent it back inside the wardrobe. 

A dead silence took upon the classroom, only filled with the hushed breaths of Olivia. Lupin was facing the wardrobe, caught in his own thoughts. He quickly came back to his senses and turned to Olivia. All the severity of his face had disappeared, only to be replaced by an apologetic expression. He approached Olivia, who was still in shock on the floor, her back against a desk.

“Are you okay ?” He asked, offering his hand to help her get up. 

Olivia looked up to him, and Lupin saw in his eyes the anger mixed with sadness behind the remaining tears. She chased his hand violently, and got up on her own. With all of remaining pride, she grabbed her wand and her books, and stormed out of the classroom. She made sure to slam the door violently on her way out, which made Lupin jump a little. 

Lupin stood in the same spot for many seconds, his eyes still on the door where Liv had just disappeared. He sighed loudly in the empty classroom. His left hand traversed his hair, messing them a little. 

“Fuck.”

\-------------

Olivia's way back to dungeons was kinda blurry, so she wasn't clearly sure how long it took to get there. She forced the tears to stop, the thought of people seeing her like that was too much. Fortunately, classes had ended for a bit of time now, and most of the student were either in their common room or at the library

As soon as Liv walked into the dorm, Clara understood something was wrong. She immediately got out of her bed where she seemed to be working, and approached her friend. Olivia didn't have the strength to pretend everything was fine, and her puffy eyes were giving it away. Mia wasn't here, which Olivia was glad about. She didn't want her to see the mess she was right now.

Clara made her seat to her bed slowly, as if she was made of porcelain and could break at any moment. A second later, she had  _ accio _ a glass of water, and gave it to Olivia. 

“What happened ?” She finally asked when the glass was empty. 

The tears flooded back in, and this time, Olivia didn't even try to fight them. Clara did her best to understand what she was saying through the sobs, and finally put the piece together after making the brown haired girl repeat a few times. 

First, Clara hugged Olivia tightly, murmuring recomforting things in her ear. 

“It's gonna be okay… It's not your fault”.

Then, when the tears stopped, Clara sent her to the bathroom, telling her the warm water would help her calm her nerves. It did, and when she got out twenty minutes later, Clara had not moved. When Olivia saw her friends sitting on her bed like that, looking at her with her eyes full of compassion and understanding, she was sure of one thing. Clara wasn't going anywhere. 

This time, it was Olivia who initiated the hug, which Clara didn't even question. She held her for as long as she needed. Clara was her rock, truly. Always there for her, no matter what. 

Clara took time to talk with her. She didn't just say the stupid things people always said to people in grief. Things that Olivia had heard enough for her whole lifetime. She had enough of that. 

Clara told Liv it was okay to cry, that what she just had experimented was hard. That her reaction was obviously okay. She then moved on to more endearing memories of her mother, and soon enough, the conversation turned to be way more light-hearted. Olivia smiled. Clara knew how to comfort her. 

Then she made Olivia laugh by telling her all the way she could hex Lupin for what happened. All she had to do was ask. Liv would remember that.

About one hour later, Olivia's stomach began to rumble loudly enough for both of them to hear it. Clara proposed to go to the kitchen to grab them something to eat in the privacy of her dorm. Liv didn't accept ; she wasn't going to mope all evening in her room. Five minutes later, they left the Slytherin house alongside some of their house members. Olivia took time to chat with them, eager to change her mind about what happened earlier. 

Olivia arrived at the great hall in a way better mood. A sixth year had just made a terrific joke on the way, and her mouth was still hurting from laughing so much. She sat next to Mia at the serpent table, the blond girl kindly keeping them a seat. Clara sat in front of her. Behind Liv, one of the big fireplaces made her back warm up, and the sensation was just what she needed. 

She didn't eat much, even though her stomach had decided to scream agony just a bit ago. Instead, she kept her mind busy by making conversation with everyone around her. A fifth year she barely noticed before took this opportunity to ask her about OWL, and Olivia gladly gave her all the tips that helped her two years ago. Some guys began to joke about some weird event that happened in divination earlier, which made everyone who was listening die in laughter. She was no exception. Olivia didn't magically forget about everything that happened today, but the tension in her shoulders went a lot lighter.

As she was playing with an apple and listening to Mia talking about a new quidditch tactic she had invented, Olivia began to feel like someone was watching her. She looked over to the Gryffindor table, thinking it might be one of her friends, but no. Oliver and Andrew both had their back facing her, focused on their own meal. She quickly looked over the other house tables, wondering if she was maybe imagining things. But this weird tingling, almost imperceptible sensation wasn't going away. 

As if her mind suddenly understood on her own, she turned her head slowly to her left, in the direction of the staff table. Her eyes immediately fell on the brown haired professor sitting at the end of the table. As she thought, his gaze was on her, and at the second their eyes met, Olivia looked away. She faced Clara, who raised an eyebrow at her strange behaviour. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Lupin standing up from his chair. She looked at him again, and before he could do any more step in her direction, she raised from her chair suddenly. Clara who had followed her gaze did the same, which caused some of their friends around to give them a strange look, but did not ask what was going on. They left the Slytherin table after telling Mia and the other some random excuses, and walked to the exit. Olivia dared to look above her shoulder as they walked away, and met Lupin eyes. 

Standing next to the staff table as if he was just leaving like any other day, no one else could have understood that he wanted to talk to her at this exact moment. But Olivia knew. The way he was looking at her was giving it away. Lupin didn't try to stop her from escaping and his green eyes followed her figure until she had disappeared into the corridor.

Back in her dorm, Clara didn't talk about what happened. She didn't have to be a Ravenclaw to know why Liv wanted to avoid their DADA teacher. Instead, they focused on the homeworks they had for tomorrow. It went very efficiently, even more when Mia arrived, and they decided to do a big study group. The three of them went to bed around eleven, happy to be able to get a good night of sleep.

But as if today wasn't already bad enough, Morpheus had decided to ignore Olivia. In the following hours, she turned in her bed more time that she could count, moving her pillow every ten minutes in hope it would help her. But nothing. The sleep she wanted so badly the previous night had decided to bless everyone else but her. 

Mia soft snoring became the principal focus of Olivia, basing her own respiration on her. Her eyes wide open, fixed on a random point in the dark above her, she began reminiscing today's event. 

It didn't take her long to admit she had been rude to Lupin for the simple reason she was exhausted and overwhelmed by everything. She acted badly toward him, so it was only natural he did too after all. What happened after was not his fault, and Olivia knew he didn't mean for it to go this way. She shut her eyes when she realized she had to apologize to him if she wanted to go back to the way things were starting to be. 

_ Can I just ignore what happened ? She _ thought, already cringing at the idea.

Her train of thought got suddenly interrupted by her belly growling. The small meal she had for dinner came back to her mind. She cursed herself for not eating more earlier, and rolled over in her bed. A new rumbling came, and Olivia understood she wasn't going to fall to sleep with an empty stomach.

With an exasperated but quiet sight, she got out of bed. The room was dark, barely illuminated by the flickering lantern on the ceiling. She put on the slippers waiting at the end of her bed, and grabbed a hoodie to put above her pyjamas. Her book in her arm to occupy herself later, she got out of her dorm as silently as she could not to wake up her friends. The common room was dead silent, only the crack of the fire and the water of the lake tapping against the big windows could be heard. Everyone seemed to be in their dorm, and Olivia was glad to see that no one had fallen asleep on the black sofas. She left the Slytherin house, and put her wand in front of her.

“Lumos,” she whispered.

Olivia shivered a little when the cold attacked her bare leg. She wondered if she should change her shorts for something warmer, but she was too lazy to do so. She began to walk in the direction of the kitchen. She knew the path to go there by heart now, years of experience behind her. Liv walked out the dungeons more silently than she had ever been. Snape might like her, but if she got caught out of bed at this hour, she was forever getting in trouble.

The Slytherin was more cautious than usual, and made sure to check every corridor in case one of the teachers had decided to go search Black at this exact moment. Lucky her, none of them seemed to be around, neither was Peeves. 

She easily arrived in the basement, and stood before the entrance of the kitchen. The large fruits painting blocking it was at least twice her size, and she remembered how it seemed way bigger a few years ago. She ticked the pear in the bowl of fruit, and it giggled a little before turning into a handle. She had learned this trick in her second year, when she had followed some older students sneaking in. She had been the one explaining it to most of her friends afterward, and soon learned it was a “secret” that most students knew about. Dumbledore most probably knew about them going into the kitchen at any moment of the day, and seemed to be okay with it. There was one implicit rule that everyone followed : be kind and polite to the elf house or get lost. Everyone, even the posh students seemed to respect it. 

Olivia opened the door, and immediately, the sweet scent came flooding her senses. She smiled and walked in.

“Nox”, she said as she put her wand in the pocket of her hoodie. 

The room was enlightened by the multiple fires present. Liv felt immediately warmer. She walked to one of the house elves she recognized at the back of the room. The little creature turned to face her, probably a little surprised to see her at this time. 

“Hello Pitts,” she greeted him.

The creature nodded at her.

“Can I help you ?” Immediately asked the elf. ”I don't think you are here for detention, are you ?”

Olivia chuckled. Pitts had often seen her for various detention in all her years in this castle.. He was strict to students that had to help here after school, but was always polite toward them. Sometimes, he even gave them a sandwich afterward when he thought they did a good job.

“No, I'm not here for that,'' she smiled. “I'm sorry to bother you so late, but could you make me something sweet to eat ? And a hot chocolate ?”

“Go take a seat next to the other”, Pitts said, “and I will bring it to you.”

“Thank you,” she responded before it hit her. “Wait…”

_ The other ? _

Olivia quickly turned around. In a darker corner of the room, just after the entrance, someone was sitting on one of the wooden tables. It took her eyes a second to accommodate to the shadows, and when the figure leaned forward, she gasped. 

“Professor…“ She said more for herself than for him.

“Miss Montgomery,” Lupin softly responded. 

Olivia looked around, checking if someone else was hiding in the shadows and looking for a way to escape at the same time. She wasn't supposed to be here, and they both knew it. Olivia wasn't sure what to do exactly, and Lupin noticed. To her surprise, he smiled and invited her to sit. The thought of running away crossed her mind, but she also knew it wouldn't help her case. She sat across him at the end of the long table, and put her book on it. 

Lupin didn't seem angry to see here after curfew, on the contrary, he looked like the situation entertained him. He took a sip of what seemed to be a cup of tea, his eyes not leaving the Slytherin in front of him. Olivia waited for him to say something, but so did he. After a weird minute of silence, Liv decided to go for it.

“Are you going to extend my detentions ?” She asked. 

Lupin put down his cup, a smile on his lips. 

“For sneaking into the kitchen a bit late ?” He said, not even hiding his amusement. “It sure is a bit reckless of you to do so with the current condition, but I'm also here so… And I did it so many times when I was younger, I wouldn't feel right in my mind to sanction you.”

Olivia immediately felt interested at the simple mention of his past. He seemed so mysterious sometimes, and that truly made her curious. 

“And to be honest,” he continued. “I feel I could cut you off some slack after today”.

Olivia's eyes widened. 

_ Oh. We are getting right to it ? _

Olivia didn't know what to say, but luckily, Lupin hasn't finished. He looked at her seriously, his smile had disappeared. His eyes were deep into hers. 

“I want to apologize for what happened,” he began. “As a teacher, I should have understood you were uncomfortable with this exercise, and I shouldn't have pushed you.”

Olivia blinked. She wasn't expecting him to apologize. 

“No, I should have been the one to apologize.” She said quickly. “You had no reason to dispense me from this exercise, you didn't know. I should have explained it directly to you.”

Pitt interrupted them, putting a cup in front of Olivia accompanied by some pie and biscuit. She smiled at him, and thanked him. When she faced Lupin again, he hadn't looked away. The way he looked at her, with interest and kindness made Liv's stomach flutter a little, but if anyone asked, she would put it on hunger.

“And I was rude to you earlier, and me having a bad day doesn't excuse how I spoke to you. So I’m sorry for how I acted.”

Lupin’s lips lifted a little. They both drank from their respective drink. Olivia was happy to change the subject, but her teacher was not on the same page. 

“Are you okay ?”

She sighed, couldn't they just pretend nothing had happened ?

“Perfectly fine.”

Lupin raised an eyebrow, and Liv understood he wasn't going to let it go so easily. She took a deep breath, to prevent herself from being too emotional. He has seen her cry once already, it was far enough.

“I’m sure you understood what my boggart was earlier right ?”

Lupin nodded, but didn't say anything, letting her talk as much as she wanted.

“That was my mother,” she continued. “She…

Olivia took a pause to breathe. She didn't like to talk about it. Lupin did not push her to continue, but his soft expression encouraged her to.

“She passed away last year. A few months before the end of the school year actually.” Olivia moved on her seat, a bit uncomfortable. “It was cancer, a nasty muggle illness. Muggle medicine couldn't do anything, they detected it too late. And it took me a bit of time to accept that us wizards couldn't use our magic to help her, or muggle in general just because they were born differently.”

Lupin's eyes widened a little. He took a long breath to think, before saying :

“This is a very old argument you are talking about. You are not the first or the last to realize it. Every day, people recognize how badly we could help others if we wanted, but things don't change. Cornelius Fudge makes sure of it. Him and everyone else in the ministry are only cowards who do more bad than good,” he finally snapped. 

Olivia was surprised to see him so angry toward the institution. She couldn't understand why, but maybe she could learn about it another time. 

“Obviously,” he said a bit calmly as if he realized how he must have looked, “not everything is black and grey. There are good people working there, but sadly, they are not enough. “

He paused, before giving Olivia a little grin. 

“Don't tell people I said that.”

She let a little laugh out of her lips, and mimed the motion of a lock in front of her lips. She took a bit of pie, trying her best to eat gracefully in front of him. 

“I'm sorry about your mother,” he finally said and Olivia could tell he truly meant it.

She gave him a little smile in response. She never knew if she was supposed to say thank you in this situation. 

“Did she…” he hesitated. “Did she ever say those things to you ?”

He sounded a bit worried, Olivia noticed.

“No, no. She was always amazing with me. But the last months with her were a bit blurry, so I guess the boggart mixed all those emotions together. It sure worked.”

Lupin pursued his lips a little, still a bit uneasy with what happened in his class.

“That what I was worried about, finally seeing her again, only to meet a false and darker vision of her. I’m afraid that my last memories of her will all be like that. “

Lupin finished his cup, thinking about what his student had just said. Olivia noticed his eyes glancing at the book next to her. With the tons of works she had to do, she still hasn't finished her copy of  _ Pride and Prejudice _ . He asked her with a look if he could take it, and she accepted, unsure of what he was trying to do. 

He flipped the pages gracefully, and as if he knew the book by heart, he easily found the chapter he was searching for. His eyes quickly analysed the page, and he smiled when he found what he was looking for. Olivia was patiently waiting for him to explain when he placed the book in front of her. His finger pointed to a particular line. Olivia looked at Lupin uncertain, and he told her to look with a smile.

Her eyes followed his long finger, before falling on a line that made her heart ache immediately.

_ “Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.” _

Lupin took off his hand from the book and Olivia passed her finger along the quote, a sad smile on her face. 

“A wise quote from our dear Elisabeth,” Lupin said softly.

She nodded, reading the quote again and again like she discovered it for the first time.

“Those painful memories you have don't define the rest of them,” he continued. “You can let them go, you know ?” 

She tilted her head to look at him. He was talking by experience, Olivia could feel it. 

“Is it easy ?”

His expression closed up a little. 

“No. But it helps. “

Lupin was deep in thoughts, and Olivia wondered what memories were playing in his head. A happy one she hoped. He looked back at her, and gave her a warm smile.

“It's getting a bit late, I should go,” he said, raising up from his chair, yawning a little. “Don't stay here too long, you should rest.”

Olivia nodded at him, a little amused to see him acting like he wasn't supposed to punish here for being here. Lupin saluted the few house elves that were in the kitchen, and Olivia noticed how kind he was with them. It wasn't a false sympathy just to get what he wanted from them, but true kindness. He came back toward her, this time on the same side of the table. Olivia couldn't help but look at him walking to the exit. 

To her surprise, her teacher stopped behind her. He searched something in his pocket. Then he leaned forward behind her, and Olivia could almost feel his breath on her back. He put something in front of her, and Liv frowned. 

_ A chocolate bar ? _

“If you are still craving for something sweet,” he murmured behind her, “this is my favourite.”

Olivia turned her head to meet his gaze. Lupin was looking directly at her, with the kindest smile she had ever seen. His handsomeness hit her one more time. Drowning in his features, she barely managed to thank him. He chuckled, and Olivia hoped she wasn't too obvious. 

“Your welcome”, he said, walking the final step toward the entrance with a smile.

Lupin opened the door and turned to Liv for a final time. Olivia wasn't certain, but his eyes flickered to her bare legs for a quick second before going back to her face. 

“Sweet night, Miss Montgomery.”

She smiled, and he disappeared into the corridor closing the door after him. The Slytherin took a long breath and put her hand on her cheeks, hoping they were not giving away anything she didn't want them to. She finished her pie in silence, her eyes going from the snack to her book still open on the same page. She closed it, and instead of eating the chocolate, she put it in her pocket.

When Olivia came back to her bed soon after, she immediately fell asleep, a stupid smile on her lips.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, Olivia mom is not here anymore, and it's a important subject ! Dont worry, she is still a strong and independent woman, her backstory doesn't define her but It impact her for sure.  
> I loved writing this special moment between them in the kitchen, it just felt right. Liv and Lupin relationship will go forward from now on !  
> This chapter is twice the size the usual one, and the others coming after this one are also longer than expected, I hope you will like them !


	18. Get Your Head Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to my new beta @jesper !

**Chapter Eighteen :**

* * *

The 7th year students of Hogwarts had lived through pretty traumatic experiences during their schooling years. Their school life consisted of encountering curses and maledictions. For a few years, there had been cursed vaults that Bill Weasley and his friends decided to investigate. Then, they had a break for a bit of time, until the boy who lived began to attend Hogwarts. The poor boy seemed to bring trouble every damn year. First a troll, then the chamber of secrets opened, and this year bloody Sirius Black. At this point, the students were ready to face anything coming their way. 

But nothing could have prepared them to see professor R. J. Lupin laughing at one of Olivia Montgomery's jokes. The two of them hated each other. That was common knowledge through the castle, and one of the favourite gossip topics among the students. People secretly enjoyed seeing them at each other's throats, and wondered what would be the next subject that would bring them against each other. 

But in this first week of December, no one knew how to react to the scene in front of them. Sure, they had remarked that in the previous weeks the two of them had begun to treat each other more civilly , but they just thought that it was the calm before the storm. That one of them was waiting for the right moment to destroy the other with an amazing comeback, but no. 

It was a usual Thursday afternoon in their DADA classroom. They had been learning about nonverbal spells for a few lessons now, and today was a practical lesson. They were all paired up, and were trying to silently perform Experlliamus on the other one. And as Lupin walked through the class to give advice, they all heard the voice of Olivia coming from the back of the class. 

“I mean, If they just taught us how to use guns instead, it would be quicker.”

Her classmates were used to people chatting and joking in the class and were just going to ignore it and continue their exercise when they heard a little chuckle. Lupin had his left hand in front of his mouth, as to hide his small laughter. But everyone had noticed it. Almost simultaneously, all of the students stopped dueling and turned to look at him then looked at Olivia, gaping. The Slytherin was staring back at their teacher, beaming proudly. Lupin, not really understanding why they all stopped working asked them to go back to it, and continued his lesson like nothing happened. People glanced at Olivia, unsure of what to think.

Clara and Liv just continued working on their spell unbothered. Olivia still had a small smile on her lips, which Clara only took as a sign of pride. She knew the relationship between the two had become better, even if she was unsure how and when. Olivia didn't talk about her detentions very much anymore, but she would now come back from them in a good mood. But because she was accustomed to seeing her in a similar way when she came back from potions, Clara didn't question it very much. 

Next to the two Slytherins, Oliver managed to perform the spell perfectly against Andrew, and let a small “Yes !” slide between his lips. The group smiled at him, congratulating him for being the first of them to do it perfectly. The two Gryffindors didn't seem to find the reaction of their teacher strange, even if they knew less than Clara about the progress between the two. Andrew turned to Olivia and smiled at her. It was his usual charming smile, the one she liked so much. Still, she didn't feel like it used to before. 

Andrew had apologized for acting weird that day, blaming it on the overload of work and stress. He didn't want to seem distant, and Olivia told him she understood. After all, they all had been quite odd that particular week. Still since then, the two of them barely had any display of affection toward the other. Not that they were not awkward toward each other, they just acted like they always did the years prior. Like friends. Olivia didn't mind, she wasn't trying to flirt with him as much as before, and neither did he. They didn't talk about it, so the Slytherin wasn't sure what was going through his mind. Maybe that was something they should talk about.

Suddenly, her wand flew through the air, catching her by surprise. She faced Clara, who smiled proudly. Olivia lowered herself to retrieve her wand on the floor. Long legs appeared next to her, making her look up.

“Nice job Clara,” Lupin said.

The girl thanked him, and then his eyes landed on Olivia. She quickly stood up and dusted off her clothes before giving him a polite smile. 

“What about you ? How are you doing ?” he asked.

“Still trying,” Liv said. 

“What’s blocking you ?”

“It's just stuff I guess. It's hard to just focus on only one thing in my mind. Too many things on my brain,” she joked. 

He smiled kindly. 

“Like I said in the theoretical part, nonverbal took more concentration than it seemed. Too bad Lockhart didn't take time to introduce the notion to you, we could have been learning so much more this year… But you guys are doing great, better than I expected, so I don't worry too much.”

He looked at Clara, waiting for him to say something, then to Olivia.

“Show me.”

Liv brought herself on position, a bit nervous to feel him watching her. Suddenly, Lupin walked behind her. He put a hand on her hips, moving it a bit forward. Clothes separated his hand from Liv's skin, but her cheeks flushed at the simple touch. Then he raised her arm a bit higher. Her sleeves were rolled up, and his fingers brushed her arm, leaving her a burning sensation and a few goosebumps behind. 

“It will be more effective this way.”

His chest was almost against her back to help correct her position, and Olivia could feel the warmth of his body close to hers. A simple step back, and she would be able to feel his hips against her. 

_ Oh lord, give me strength. _

Everyone seemed oblivious to the panic going on her mind. Even Clara didn't notice her face reddening. The others were too busy to even be interested in what was happening in the back of the class. After all, Lupin often helped his students.

“Now visualize the spell in your mind,” he said, still as close. 

Thinking of anything else but him was terribly complicated for Olivia at this precise moment. As if it wasn't enough, he leaned to her ear.

“Experlliarmus” he murmured in a low voice.

The word became the only thing playing in her head. The way he said it shouldn't be allowed. In a quick moment of lucidity she managed to focus her spinning mind on casting the spell. She wasn't sure how, but it worked, and Clara got disarmed. 

She turned to Lupin, proudly. He looked at her deeply, and his smile was just perfect. 

“Good girl,” he said low enough that just her could hear it. 

He walked away to help another student like it was nothing, unaware of what he had just done to his poor student. If Olivia wasn’t flustered enough, her face turned crimson. She hadn't thought about  _ the _ dream in days, but heard him say those specific words were just too much. Also, they hadn't been this close since their first detention, and the simple reminder of him these days wasn't helping. She quickly contained herself while Clara collected her wand from the floor, and did her best to move on to the next exercise. Still, she couldn't help but glance one last time at him before mentally slapping herself. 

* * *

It had been a few weeks since Olivia had had to do her homework in detention. Instead, Lupin and her had begun to discuss their principal common interest : Muggle culture. Each time, Olivia opened her book as if she was going to work, but before she could even pretend to look at a passage, Lupin always interrupted her with a smile.

At first, Olivia thought he was trying to make amends for the boggart detention by talking with her. After they talked for a few detentions, she quickly realized he was truly interested in her opinions, and enjoyed the conversations with her. He never seemed to fail to find a subject to converse with her. 

She soon discovered he was an avid reader, and unlike their first conversation about literature, she didn't know half the books he talked about. That didn't stop her from listening to every word he said about various books, and she would note them in a piece of paper to look at later. 

Lupin also loved muggle music. Particularly the Beatles. He told her proudly he knew every word to all their songs, and Olivia planned to make him prove that by forcing him to sing later. He explained to her that his father even brought him to their last concert for his nine birthday, and admitted he had cried for days when he discovered they separated. Olivia told him she was more of a Queen fan since she heard Freddie Mercury singing  _ radio gaga _ on the radio when she was ten. 

“I was in Transfiguration when I learned he had passed away two years ago,” she remembered. “I was devastated, and I suspect McGonagall cried too.”

Another time, when she learned he had never seen Star Wars, she was in absolute shock. How could he reprimand her for not having read Sherlock Holmes when he hadn't seen those masterpieces ? Lupin tried to tell her she couldn't compare the two, but she didn't care. If  _ Pride and Prejudice  _ was one of her favourite links with her mother, Star Wars was the same with her father. As soon as she was old enough, he showed them all to her. After a long debate, Olivia finally managed to make him promise to see them as soon as he could. 

Lupin didn't act like a teacher during those detentions, more like a friend than anything else. When they saw each other in the corridor, he always took time to wave or smile at her. Sure he was like that with everyone else, but Olivia still appreciated it. Sometimes, she couldn’t wait for the days she had detention with him, just because she knew she was going to learn some things about him. She wasn’tstupid, he never went too far into his personal life, and if she thought about it, she knew nothing of his past, but she didn’t care about that for now. It was better than nothing.

* * *

Even if some students were too busy to remember the date, the sudden chill reminded them December was here, and winter was only days away. 

When Olivia got out of her charm class that day, she immediately felt the cold air freezing her. She was the first one out of the room, Clara wanting to ask a few questions about N.E.W.T to Flitwick. She began walking into the corridor to wait for her friend. She stopped at one of the windows and decided to look outside to pass the time. The great lake was as peaceful as ever. She couldn't wait for the temperature to warm up again, so they all could go swim a little. 

Suddenly, something unusual caught her eyes. A large black thing seemed to be walking next to the water. She narrowed her eyes, and gasped when she realized it was a dog . Without thinking, she started running down the stairs, and across the castle. People were getting used to seeing her storm out for no reason those days so they gave her no mind. Like a perfectly coordinated dance, she managed to  _ accio _ some food from the great hall when she walked past it without slowing her pace. She yelled thank you to the poor soul she just stole a snack from, and walked out of the castle. She raced to the lake, hoping the dog would be still here. 

When she finally arrived at the edge of the lake where she saw the dog, it was deserted. She sighed deeply, a bit disappointed to have missed it. But as she approached the water to see how cold it was, she saw the shadow of the dog behind a tree. 

The black dog was definitely the one she saw at Hogwarts over a month ago. He seemed as dirty and malnourished as last time, so Olivia immediately brought the biscuit she had stolen out of her pocket. He wasn't as aggressive as the time before, and Olivia wondered if he had recognized her. He was still cautious of her, but did not growl. At the sight of the food, he approached the girl. 

He didn't take off with the food this time, and ate it from her hand. With her other hand Olivia dared to pat his head. She really hoped he wasn't going to bite her, because she didn't know how she would explain it to madam Pomfrey. The black fluffy dog let her do it, and even seemed appreciative when she began to scratch behind his ear. 

“You're a good boy, aren't you ?” 

He finished the few biscuits she had brought in less than a minute, and she felt bad for not bringing more for him. 

“If you stay around, I will try to bring more food next time.” 

The dog made eye contact with her, as if he understood what she was saying. Suddenly, his fluffy ears twitched and he ran back towards the forbidden forest. Olivia watched him go, uncertain how she scared him off. She shrugged, and turned around to go back to the castle. The wind sent a shiver through her spine. She only walked a few meters before someone else crossed her path. 

Lupin walked quickly towards her, his hair mussed by the wind. She smiled at him, and he returned it. 

“Professor,” she greeted him, “What are you doing here ?”

He looked behind her, where she had been standing with the dog a few minutes ago. 

“I could ask you the same. Was that a dog I saw with you ?” He asked, and Olivia noticed how sharp his eyes were.

Shit. Was she in trouble for helping the dog ? After all, it wasn't allowed in Hogwarts ground. 

“No, of course not,” she said. 

She felt bad for lying to him, but she really didn't want to lose more house points just for that. 

“Oh,” he let out a relieved sigh that Olivia didn't understand. “I probably imagined it. Must be my old age…”

Olivia raised a brow at the unexpected remark. 

“You’re not old,” she couldn't help saying. 

“Yes I am,'' he insisted, weirdly serious.

The Slytherin paused for a second to look at his features. Sure, there were a few grey strands peeking through his brown hair, but nothing out of the ordinary that would make him so self-conscious. He still had a long time before he looked like Dumbledore. 

“How old are you ?” She asked, now curious.

Lupin looked at her for a second, like what he was about to say would scare her away. 

“Thirty-three.”

_ Thirty-three. _ The number resonated in Olivia's head.

_ Sixteen years separates us.  _

She quickly rid her mind of the thought, and did not acknowledge the tightness in her chest. 

“That’s what I’m saying,” she finally said in a kind smile. “Not old at all.”

His eyes softened at her response, and he gave her a gentle smile. 

“So, what are you doing here professor ?” Olivia asked as they began to walk back to the castle side by side. 

“I saw you storming through the castle like an erumpent through my office window,” he admitted. “Curiosity took the best of me.” 

Olivia nodded, realizing he was in the cold just because of her. A gust of cold wind brushed them both, and the Slytherin shivered a little. Lupin immediately noticed and put himself in front of her, blocking her from walking further. She raised a brow to him. 

He began to take off the scarf he was wearing, and put it around Olivia's neck. She batted her lashes when she realized what he was doing. 

“You could catch a cold,” he said to her, wrapping it completely. “I wouldn't want you to miss our next detention.”

This time, she could easily blame her pink cheeks on the cold. She murmured a thank you and he smiled. Didn't he realize the effect his words had on her ? 

“But aren't you going to be cold ?” She asked when they began to walk again.

“Don't worry, I run hot,” he explained with a grin. 

They reached the castle a few minutes later. Lupin decided to go see Hagrid, and left her at the entrance of the school. She waved him goodbye and watched him go until he was out of sight. She let a loud sigh now that he was far enough. She suddenly realized she hadn't given him his scarf back, but didn’t try to run to him. It wasn't like she was particularly concerned with giving it back, she could wait until her next detention. 

Olivia did what she hadn't been able when he first gave it to her. She buried her face into the soft material. It smelled like him, coffee and chocolate. She breathed in the sweet smell with a smile. But when she realized what she was doing her eyes widened and she ripped the scarf away from her face. 

She was silent on her walk back to her dorm, but her mind was yelling at her. 

_ What the fuck am I doing ? _

He wasn't a mentor like Snape was. He wasn't the typical good-looking man like Lockhart. So how come she was becoming more and more interested in the man ? Sure she had accepted she found him attractive, but it was supposed to stop there. Of course, he had to be bloody interesting on top of everything. 

She stripped off her robes and sat on her bed. Then she slowly took off the scarf and looked at it. It was a dark green mixed with grey, the same color as Lupin's eyes. It seemed a bit old, but was as soft as new ,magic probably. Olivia was going to drop her head and smell the sweet fabric once again, but she heard footsteps coming. By instinct, she hid the scarf in the trunk under her bed. 

Clara and Mia arrived in the dorm, talking joyfully. Liv tried to act natural like nothing happened. It was stupid, she didn't have to hide the scarf, it was no big deal. But she didn't want Clara to ask questions, because it would mean she would have to find responses she wasn't sure she was ready for. 

The two girls didn't notice her strange behavior, too busy with their own conversation. When they noticed the presence of the other Slytherin in the room, they smiled. 

“Liv,” began Clara, “here you are ! You ass, You didn't wait for me after class !”

“Sorry,” laughed Olivia. “I wanted to go for a walk.”

Technically, she was not lying. 

“Whatever,” said Clara, visibly excited by something else. “We have good news.”

She turned to Mia, who has an equally large smile on her face. 

“Be ready !“ The blonde girl exclaimed. “Because next weekend, we are going to party all night in the Hufflepuff common room!”

Their excitement immediately infected Liv. She clapped her hands in joy. They began to share the information that they heard from the Hufflepuff girl, then moved to other excitable topics like how they were going to dress. Olivia was beaming.

_ Finally, something else to think about. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ship them. I love writing those scene between them, it's so fun.


	19. Stargaze

**Chapter Nineteen :**

* * *

Life didn't stop at the announcement of the party. The students still had as much homework, but at least, they found a reason to do them to free their weekend. Everybody had been waiting for the first party of the year. Everyone in fifth, sixth and seventh years had been invited, with a few exceptions for some fourth year. Still, if anyone younger managed to sneak into the party, no one would ask them to leave as long as they didn't mess around.

The party had fallen on the second Saturday of December. Next weekend would be the last hogsmeade trip before everyone left for the holiday on the following Monday. It was perfect. 

The seventh year girl’s dormitory of the Slytherin house was buzzing. As not to raise suspicion from the staff members, everyone had to act normal all day, and do nothing related to the party. So as soon as dinner was over, everyone planning on going ran to their dorm to prepare. Olivia and her friends were no exception. 

Clara was still searching through her wardrobe, still unsure about her outfit and Olivia was finishing her makeup in the bathroom. It was a little after the curfew and the party had already started. Mia had already left twenty minutes ago, too eager to wait for them. 

Liv smiled at her reflection. She liked how she looked. She entered the bedroom and looked at her friends who still hadn't decided. 

“You are looking fine Clara, don't worry.”

Her friend smiled at her, and put the clothes away. They both looked at each other from head to toes, in case something was wrong. They had nothing to say, they were both looking gorgeous.

“Ready ?” Asked Clara.

The two girls grabbed the bottles of alcohol that were waiting under their bed for months and smiled. 

“Ready,” nodded Olivia. 

The Slytherin common room was silent. The younger kids were in bed, and everyone else was already partying. Clara and her walked out of the dungeons as quietly as possible. They both had their wand on hers in case they needed magic to escape one of their professors. They made sure to cast a charm on them, so their wands wouldn't fell later when they were going to dance. That was how Andrew broke his first wand two years ago. 

The two girls managed to go to the basement without getting caught. If you didn't know, you couldn't have guessed that a gigantic party was happening behind those walls. Whoever put a silencing charm did a wonderful job. 

They walked past the fruit painting and at the same time two Hufflepuff got out of the kitchen, carrying snacks for the party. They greeted Clara and Olivia, and invited them to follow them. The painting closed behind them, and Liv couldn't help but remember her encounter with Lupin a few weeks ago. She shook her head at this thought. She didn't want to think about him right now. 

The entrance of the Hufflepuff house had also been charmed, so it was easier to get in and out. The barrels hiding the door still looked the same, but it was bigger on the inside. 

As soon as they took a step into the common room, loud music came to their ears. The place was crowded. People were dancing, drinking or talking in every corner. Olivia smiled as the euphoria kicked in. 

Clara and her saluted everyone they came across while they dropped their bottle on the open bar. Liv served two shooters and gave one to her friend. They crossed their arms together and drank it in a second. A burning feeling traversed Liv's throat, but it made her smile more than anything. Clara who had felt the same sensation shook her head. 

“Come on, let's dance !” Shouted Olivia, loud enough for Clara to hear her. 

The purple haired Slytherin nodded, and the two of them walked to the center of the room where everyone else was already dancing. 

_ Walking On Sunshine _ began to play through the enchanted radio, to Olivia's pleasure. 

“I used to think maybe you loved me now, baby, I'm sure…” she hummed as she began to dance with Clara.

The popular song seemed to bring people together, and more and more people began to dance around them. As she moved her body to the rhythm of the music, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Clara and her turned to face Andrew and Olivier. The two of them began to mimic their movement with a smile. The chorus was beginning and everyone on the dance floor looked at each other. 

“ Now I'm walking on sunshine, whoa !” The whole room chanted in unison.

Laughter and the rest of the song began to mix together, everyone smiling like idiots. The four of them finished the song dancing as absurdly as they could. Andrew got away for a sec only to come back with more drinks that quickly disappeared. The firewhisky was already buzzing in their heads, and the party was only starting. 

The amazing voice of Whitney Houston began to sing, and Andrew leaned toward Olivia as he said in concert with the lyrics. 

“I wanna dance with somebody…”

Olivia smiled at the black haired boy and approached her body from his. The two of them began to dance together, leaving their friend aside. They didn't care, and went to get more drinks. Andrew was beaming, staring in Olivia's eyes as they moved together. It wasn't slow-dancing, but it was perfect for them. They turned around, moving their shoulders at the same time. Sometime one of them took a step closer to the other, and the other walked a step back. The dynamic was perfect. Olivia realized how much she had missed her relationship with Andrew. It was so simple with him. She could just kiss him right there if she wanted. Nothing was stopping her. She began to lean forward to do so, but the image of a certain professor stopped her. It wouldn't be fair to Andrew if she kissed him in this state of mind, so she backed off as naturally as she could. If Andrew had understood what had been trying to do, he didn't say anything. He continued to dance with her until the song stopped. 

They found the other at the bar, and Olivia took the opportunity to drink multiple shooters in a row. She didn't want to think about anything tonight, and alcohol was the best solution. Her friends clapped her when she finished the third one. Her mind told her to stop for now, and she decided to listen.

Oliver was talking with someone a few meters away, so she decided to jump on his back to mess with him.

“Woah” he exclaimed, surprised. 

Even though he didn't ask for it, he didn't let her go and supported her legs around his waist with his muscular arms. She smiled at him, and put her head on his shoulder. She looked in front of her, only to see a brown haired boy smiling at her. 

“Hi Olivia,” saluted the boy.

“Hi Cedric, how are you ?” 

“Good, thanks,” responded the Hufflepuff captain. “Since you're here, could you tell your friend to accept my proposition to do a return match between our teams ?”

Olivia looked at the profile of her friend, and giggled a little when she saw his serious expression. 

“Sorry, he's too stubborn when it comes to Quidditch.”

Oliver smiled, before letting Liv get off his back. 

“It's nice of you to propose, but you won fair and square. And Anyway, we will still win the cup.”

The Slytherin gave him a small punch on his shoulder.

“Don't forget about me,” she said to him before turning to Cedric. “I will kick both your asses.”

The two raised an eyebrow as to say “We’ll see”, and she chuckled before letting the two boys talk together.

She went back to the dance floor where she found Mia and Clara dancing like crazy. She copied their moves with a laugh, and they all were soon joined by other girls they knew. The songs defiled for an eternity, they didn't know how long. Olivia's mind was a little foggy, but she could tell one thing. She was really happy right now. 

When it began to be too hot for Liv to stay in the middle of other people, she walked away. She served herself a big cup of a cocktail she couldn't recognize, but which smelled damn good, so that was enough for her. She looked around, and her eyes widened when she saw Percy Weasley serving himself a drink next to her. Olivia didn't expect the stuck up head boy to be at the party, even less drunk. In all the years she knew him, she didn't remember ever seeing him with a glass of alcohol in his hand. The boy noticed her glare and looked at her. 

“Work is killing me,” he simply explained before walking away.

She laughed a little before leaning her back against the bar. It was a great party. She hoped the younger Hufflepuff had a good silencing spell on their dorm because the night was going to be long.

At one point,  _ thrillers _ by Michael Jackson played, and all the Ravenclaw present came to the centre of the room as one big group. Under amazed eyes, they performed the entirety of the choreography. It could have been perfect, but some were too drunk and missed some movements. It was still amazing, and everyone clapped when they finished, a bit unsure if what just happened was a collective hallucination. Did they randomly decide to practice this song in their free time ? When did those guys even find time ?

It was probably around one in the morning when Olivia found herself sitting next to the fire. She took a sip of her drink as a Ravenclaw was telling her how he was certain that Dumbledore was queer. Olivia just laughed at the theory, too drunk to try to really understand the valid arguments of the boy. Around them was beginning to form a large circle. People were getting a break from dancing, and were now talking and enjoying their drinks. There were still numerous people inside the common room, rare where the one who had already gone to bed.

After the boy had decided to talk of his theory with someone else, two people suddenly sat on Olivia’s side. George and Fred smiled at her, squeezing her between them. She laughed a little, and talked with them for a bit when a Hufflepuff girl suddenly stood up. 

“Lets play a game !” She shouted to everyone. 

People nodded at her, bringing bottles in the center with them as they all sat in a circle. Some stayed in their corner, like Percy, too busy snogging his girlfriend. Andrew and Oliver were nowhere to be found, but Liv was too lazy to look for them. 

“What game ?” Someone asked. 

The girl took a pause to think.

“What about never have I ever ?”

“What's that ?” asked a younger boy. 

People smiled tenderly at him, they all could tell it was his first party. 

“It's a muggle game,” Clara explained next to him. “Basically, someone will say something they have never done, and anyone who did will drink.”

“Oh okay, thanks.” The boy smiled at Clara before asking. “Are we allowed to lie ?”

A girl in Ravenclaw, Abigail, immediately proposed that they charmed the drinks, so it would tell if someone lied. There was no veritaserum, but if someone didn't drink when they were supposed to, the red cup would turn blue. At the moment, Olivia found the idea genuinely good. She didn't think of the implications. 

After five minutes of settling in and preparing the game, everyone who wanted to play was ready. Every cup was full, and they waited for the first person to talk. The Hufflepuff who proposed the game started.

“Never have I ever skipped class on purpose,” she said innocently. 

People laughed, and most of them drank from their cup. Olivia looked at Clara, remembering all the time they ditched school for something more fun. The next propositions stayed soft, until the younger boy from earlier opened his mouth. 

“Never have I ever had sex,” he said rapidly, already blushing. 

People looked at him with surprise, definitely not expecting that from him. Olivia drank, looking around her to see most of the others do the same. She looked at her both sides. The twins had drank too. She raised an eyebrow at Fred, and he winked at her with a flirtatious smile. She didn't take him seriously and pushed him with her shoulder.

“Never have I ever smoked from the greenhouse,” someone said.

Olivia drank. 

“Never have I ever cheated during the end of the year exam.”

Her cup stayed put in her hand. 

“Never have I ever fooled around instead of going to class.”

She drank, and she wasn't sure if the redder she felt on her cheeks was due to her being totally honest or because of everything she had to drink. George said something that made her throat burn one more time, and it was finally her turn to speak.

“Never have I ever put a part of the school on fire,” she said with a smile on her lips. 

People immediately laughed when the two ginger boys next to her were the only one to drink. Fred shot her an exaggerated bad look. It didn't even take him a second before he found an idea to have a little revenge.

“Never have I ever got caught fooling around in someone else's house, '' Fred proposed, looking directly at Olivia. 

Her jaw dropped at the snarky remark. This time she hit him harder on the shoulder. Everyone laughed at the scene, all aware of what event he was mentioning. She finished her drink, her cheeks a bit redder from the attention, and stood up to catch one of the bottles in the middle of the group. Busy pouring another drink for herself, she almost didn't hear the following statement.

“Never have I ever crushed on a teacher.” 

All eyes turned to the girl who spoked. She had a stupid smile on her face, proud of her idea. No one talked for a few seconds, before George declared.

“Madam Hooch does have style, with those leather boots…” 

Everyone immediately burst out laughing, and the Dumbledore conspirator added :

“If we are going into this territory, we need to talk about Lockhart !”

People immediately agreed. His weird personality had marked them, but his handsomeness as well. Some comments about his ass gushed, making everyone laugh. They were forgetting about drinking, and Olivia was glad about it. She didn't want to drink, because she was trying her best to convince herself she had no reason too. But fate wasn’t letting her off the hook so easily.

“What about Lupin ?” suddenly said the Ravenclaw girl from earlier, Abigail.

Olivia tried not to flinch at his mention. The night was going great, why did he have to be brought in the matter ? 

“Yeah, like, let's be honest,” said Abigail's friend next to her. “He is really fine.”

To the Slytherin surprise, multiple girls giggled and nodded in agreement. People started talking about how he was the best DADA teacher they ever had, and how nice he was. 

“He is so tall. And have you seen his hands ?” Abigail added. “They are so large… And those veins…”

Her exaggerated dreamy face made everyone laugh, and Olivia forced herself to go with it. If she had to be honest, she never remarked his hands that way. She was more often captivated by his words or his charming smile. There was his hair too. And his eyes. When she remarked her thoughts about going places they shouldn't, she rolled her eyes. 

“But what about all his scars ?” Someone suddenly remarked. 

People immediately began to criticize how better looking he would be without them, and how weird they were. Those rude comments made Olivia jaw tightened. 

“Are you done ?” Olivia snapped without realizing. 

Alcohol had opened her mouth before her brain could even process the words. Everyone turned at her, a bit surprised. Clara frowned at her, curious. Quickly, Liv found a way to turn it as a joke

“You guys didn't even talk of the best of them,” she said with a fake smile. “Our beloved professor Snape.”

People immediately laughed in disgust, some falsely gagging at the thought. Liv sighed in relief when she saw people moving on. 

Suddenly, someone pointed out that some drinks were already changing colours. Olivia looked at her, and could already see a spot of blue growing. She drank quickly, hoping that no one would notice and single her out. She could always point Snape or Lockhart, but the booze wasn't making her think straight, so she didn't want to risk it. She was too focused on her own thought that she didn't even see Clara staring at her. 

The game continued for a few rounds, but Olivia's heart wasn't really in it any more. She really came back to her senses when people got back to the dance floor and the music got louder again. She looked at them, smiling tenderly when she saw Oliver entering her sight, and waved at him. He walked to her and Olivia noticed he seemed a bit awkward. 

“Are you okay ?” she asked when he arrived next to her.

“Liv, you…” He paused unsure. “You should come with me.”

She didn't have time to ask him why, that he was already walking away. She got up quickly and followed him. He suddenly stopped at one of the corridors leading to the Hufflepuff dorms, and she almost bumped into him. But before she could open her mouth to complain, he pointed at something happening in the dark. Olivia's eyes widened when she realized.

Andrew was snogging some girl against a wall. 

Olivia quickly walked away, she didn't want to be caught staring at them. She arrived at the bar and immediately drank a shot of firewhiskey. Olivier joined her, a guilty look on his face. 

“I just… I thought you should know.”

Olivia didn't know what she was feeling. On one hand, she was a bit jealous to see Andrew with someone else, but on the other, it felt great. He was moving on from whatever they were, so it means he wasn't as attached to her as she thought. She didn't have to feel bad thinking about someone else. Not that she had anyone to think about. 

“Liv,” she heard Oliver say. “Are you mad at me ?”

She turned to her friend, and she could tell he was feeling terrible. She paused a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

“No, of course not,” she smiled. “You did nothing wrong. Andrew did nothing wrong. As you know, we aren't together.” 

Oliver frowned. 

“You aren't ?”

“You didn't know ?” 

“Well it's not like any of you talk to me about it, and I didn't want to feel like I intruded.”

Olivia immediately felt bad about it. It's true that the two of them have not talked very much this year. They used to tell each other everything when they were younger.

“I'm sorry, I assumed Andrew would have told you,” she explained, not really sure why he didn't. “After Halloween we had decided to stay friends… with benefits basically. But it didn't really work out I realize… We are better as friends I guess.”

She smiled at those last words, she really meant it. The quidditch captain let a deep sigh of relief. 

“Really ? Oh my god, I was so worried,” he confessed. “I thought he was cheating on you.”

Olivia's eyes widened. The brown haired Gryffindor was ready to shatter his friendship with his best friend just on her behalf. He could have pretended he saw nothing, and walked away. It didn't matter if it could have destroyed their friend group, he had decided to be honest with her. Olivia took him in her arms and hugged him as tight as she could. 

“I love you,” she said in a smile. “Don't ever forget that.” 

“I love you too,” he responded in the same tone. 

They let go of each other with a large smile on their lips. They served each other a drink and cheered to their friendship. Liv couldn't be more grateful to have Oliver in her life. 

After they added a few empty cups to the bar, they were back in the mood to dance. They joined the middle of the room, and began moving to the rhythm of the music like the others. Like a few hours ago, the majority of the people present were jumping around, the alcohol inhibiting everyone who might have been too shy earlier. 

The parole of the most famous song of Nirvana was mixed with the laughter of the teens enjoying the party like it was their last. Clara and Olivia were having some sort of dance off, the booze in their system making the whole thing ridiculous. When the song ended, the slow voice of a famous wizard singer began chanting, and everyone looked around them. The song was ideal for a slow dance, and people were starting to pair together. Olivia was going to ask Clara to dance with her, so they didn't stand there like idiots when her friend suddenly got asked by George Weasley. She accepted in a laugh under the amused eyes of Liv. The Slytherin was going to search for Olivier, when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around to discover the other ginger twin, Fred. 

“May I have this dance ?” he asked with his usual mischievous grin.

Olivia accepted with a smile and Fred took a step closer to her. He placed his right hand on her hip, and Liv put hers on his shoulder. They joined their left hands, and began moving to the romantic song. Olivia caught the eyes of Clara a few meters ahead and they both gave each other an amused smile concerning the situation. Fred brought back her interest to him.

“You are looking beautiful tonight,” he murmured in her ear. 

Olivia looked at him in the eyes, trying to see if the famous prankster was just joking with her. His smile was still here, but his eyes were terribly serious. She didn't know what to say, taken by surprise and only responded with a quick thank you as they turned around. 

_ Is he flirting with me right now ?  _

She looked at the boy in front of her. He was younger than she was by two year, but was already taller than her. She had to lift her head to correctly look at him. Fred brought his body a bit closer to her. 

“I really want to kiss you right now.”

Olivia's stomach turned at the unexpected proposition. Sure, Fred had always been a bit flirty with her, but he was like that with everyone really. She had known the boy for a good number of years now, has she missed the moment he caught a crush on her ? Was she so oblivious to the people around there ? All the questions must have been easily read on her face cause the Gryffindor let a little laugh slip between his lips.

“Relax Liv,” he joked. “I'm not asking you to marry you.”

His tone immediately calmed her nerves. He made her spin around to make her laugh, which worked. As she fell back into his arms, she took time to truly look at him. 

His features were handsome, there was no denying it. His flamboyant hair was tickling his neck, and the freckles all over his face were only sticking out his eyes. Fred's beaming smile was going to break some hearts some day . 

He was a bit young for her, but right now Olivia didn't really care. He wasn't Andrew. He wasn't Lupin. He wasn't anything else than a cute boy who was interested in her. She liked the way he was looking at her. The feeling of someone just appreciating the moment, and not having to think of the repercussions was all she needed. He was offering her a way to clear her mind for the evening, and she was going to take it. The alcohol in her system had decided for her anyway. She stood on her toes to bring her head closer to his. 

“I'm not looking for anything serious,” she clarified as his face was only inches away. 

“Me neither,” he smiled. 

His kiss was surprisingly soft. Olivia could feel all the alcohol he had drank tonight on his lips. Fred's right hand moved on her ass, which made Olivia smile against his mouth. She didn't mind it thought. He was a good kisser, and the Slytherin enjoyed this moment until someone behind them shouted :

‘What the fuck ?!”

The two separated to look at Andrew, standing a few meters away. Many people were observing him, wondering why he was interrupting the good ambiance. He looked at Olivia with angry eyes. Then Fred. Then Olivia again. 

“Are you serious Liv ?!” He continued as he walked to her. 

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. What was the fuss about ? She glanced at Clara standing not far from her, but she seemed as confused as she was. 

“What's happening ?” She then said to her black haired friend. 

“Are you joking right now ?” He snapped. 

His loud voice was making her head hurt, and the alcohol was too deep in her system to analyse the situation as she would have done sober. The curious glares were making her uncomfortable. She quickly looked at Fred with an apologetic smile, before she approached Andrew to take him in a corner of the room. She immediately noticed he was reeking of alcohol.

“What is up with you ?” She asked when she was sure everyone was far enough.

A few eyes were still on them, but Clara and Olivier had managed to get the party going as if nothing was happening. 

“What were you doing with that fucker over here ?” Andrew responded angrily, clearly drunk. 

Olivia's eyes widened. Even being drunk herself, she understood that he was being jealous. She couldn't help but chuckle at the stupidity of the situation. 

“What's so funny ?” he wondered, still pissed.

“Are you really being possessive right now Andrew ?” She retorted. 

“Why couldn't I be ?” He responded. “You and I are-”

Olivia cut him off.

“Are not together ! Remember ?”

Andrew took a step back, and Olivia realized she had probably hurt him. But he was acting like a prick and anger was building up inside her. She could have had this conversation more peacefully, but the alcohol was intensifying her emotions right now. The sadness that crossed Andrew's features for a second disappeared as opened his mouth once again.

“Yeah, because I thought you needed time before the two of us could become something more serious. I thought that's what you wanted too ! But here you are snogging this guy ?” 

“Oh my god Andrew ! Really ?”

She had shouted louder than expected, and the two of them were now back to being the centre of the attention.

“You dare make me a speech about me kissing someone else when  _ you _ were the one just eating the face of some girl less than an hour ago ?!” 

He opened his mouth, but no sound got out. He probably didn't think she would have seen them. Olivia approached him and put a finger on his chest, fuming. 

“You might be my friend Andrew, but you have no right over me. I have been clear with you, I told you what I wanted. I did not lead you on or whatever your drunk ass had decided to blame me for.”

Olivia was rarely angry with one of her friends, and had always preferred to talk calmly about whatever argument they might have. But now, the firewhiskey was just telling her to spit all of her resentment in Andrew's face. 

“And if the thought of us together might have crossed my mind one day,” she concluded, “you can be sure that your little tantrum made it go away.”

Olivia didn't let Andrew respond and pushed past him to get away. She didn't see the way his face went blank and how his eyes became watery after her last phrase. But right now, she didn't care. Liv just grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey next to her before storming out of the Hufflepuff common room without a look for anyone. 

The cold hair and the silence hit her harder than she would have thought. Out of the black and yellow and house, the castle was sleeping. Olivia advanced in the dark hallways, not even caring about using  _ lumos _ to see clearly in front of her.

She wandered in the castle for a dozen of minutes, taking a sip on her bottle every few steps. Drunk as she was, it was miraculous that no one caught her out of bed. The portraits did tell her to be quiet as they were trying to sleep, but she just gave them the middle finger before going on her way. She was walking without a destination, only trying to empty her mind from what happened. But as she was on the moving staircases, the excess of alcohol was making her feel a bit too hot. 

So, she walked on the first floor corridor to go cool down a little. Her steps guided her to the closer exit and soon enough she was under a starry sky. She took a big breath, appreciating the fresh air entering her lungs as she advanced on the stone bride. It wasn't a very used passage, as it only led to the tapestry corridor, and she couldn't remember the last time she came here. She liked it anyway, and decided to stay here for a bit. 

She looked up. The stars were watching over her, so she leaned on the ledge of the bridge to appreciate them. She had never been the best in astronomy, but she still remembered the few things she had learned over the years. She put the bottle next to her and pointed at the first constellations she saw. 

“That's… Gemini !” She said to no one but her. 

Professor Sinistra would be proud to see she hadn't forgotten everything. Olivia moved to the next closest one. 

“And this one…” She paused as she was thinking. “I think that’s Auriga ? Yeah. It's Auriga.” 

Her finger slowly moved under the constellation to fall on another one. It was a bright three belt star. A very pretty one indeed. Next to it were Canis major and minor she was sure, but the name of this one seemed to have flown away from her mind. 

“Fuck,” she swore. “What is it again… Something about a hunter of something…”

“Orion,” said a voice behind her. 

She jumped a little, taken by surprise. She turned around to discover Lupin, standing a few meters behind her, looking up at the stars as she was a few seconds ago.

“Professor…” was the first thing that got out of her mouth. 

Lupin finally posed his beautiful eyes on her. His expression was so neutral that Olivia couldn't tell if he was mad or not. 

“Miss Montgomery,” he said back.

As always, the man was looking fine, and Olivia couldn't help but look him up and down. The firewhisky inside her didn't care if she was subtle or not. His hands were in the pockets of some kind of blue pants, and he was wearing a light cardigan above a simple t-shirt. Was he in pyjamas ? In any case, it was more casual than his every day clothes, and was even making him look younger than he was. She wondered if he had just got out of bed, because his hair seemed messier than usual, which Olivia wasn't complaining about. She finally met his eyes, and as if the situation was totally normal, she smiled at him. 

“What are you doing here ?” She asked him.

“I should be the one asking you, shouldn't I ?” He said, his tone very professional. “You know it's way after curfew, and you shouldn't be here, right ?”

Her smile faded a little. She was hoping to see the Lupin she had met the last time they saw each other after curfew, in the kitchen, but he seemed to be in full teacher mode tonight. 

“They are dementors lurking around, and Black is still on the loose,” he continued. “You do realize how dangerous it is to be here at three on the morning ?”

_ So late already ? _ She realized in her mind.  _ The party really was on fire. _

A nervous chuckle escaped Liv's lips at this thought, and Lupin frowned. Then his eyes fell on the bottle of firewhiskey behind her that he hadn't seen before, and immediately understood. 

“You are drunk,” he sighed. 

“No…” she giggled. “I am certainly not.”

He raised an eyebrow, and Olivia realized she wasn't bluffing anyone. She hasn't drunk like that in many months, and the alcohol was fogging her mind more than she expected. 

“Okay”, she conceded with a stupid smile. “Maybe a bit tipsy.”

“Right…” he said, and the shadow of a smile crossed his face

But as she expected him to get her inside to give her more detentions or something, he leaned on the ledge of the bridge next to her without stopping looking at her. He then grabbed the bottle of alcohol before she could react.

“I think you had enough for tonight.”

Even though he was right, Olivia pouted a little. 

“Why are you drinking alone anyway ?” He asked with true concern in his eyes. 

Her thoughts went to her friends still partying. She realized she needed to protect them, so the party didn't get ruined. He was probably going to think it was a bit sad for her to drink alone, but it didn't matter. 

“No reasons… Are you on patrol or something ?” Olivia asked to change the subject.

He probably wasn't believing her, but he didn't insist. 

“No. Let's just say that you aren't very quiet walking around the castle. Next time, don't hum a song when you pass in front of my classroom in the middle of the night. I have a light sleep.”

She smiled at her own clumsiness. 

“Wait,'' she paused. “You sleep in the classroom ?”

For the first time this night he smiled, and Olivia couldn't help but be happy about it. 

“My living quarters are an extension of my office, which is connected to the class'' he explained softly. “You didn't know ? 

Olivia shook her head, truly surprised. She knew that Snape had a spare living quarter not connected to his office, so she just assumed it was the case for every teacher. A shooting star made her look away from her teacher. 

“Good to know where you sleep…” she said a bit absent-minded. 

As soon as the word got out of her mouth she realized how it could be interpreted. Her cheeks turned crimson, and slowly turned to look at Lupin, worried about how he would react. The teacher was looking at the stars, and didn't even seem to notice how flustered she was. A part of her was happy to see he didn't understand it the same way she did, but a small part was a bit of hurt about it. 

_ He doesn't see me as something else than a student, so of course he wouldn't be deranged by what I said.  _

Liv stared at him, the realization hitting her a bit harder than she thought. She had never thought about it, but it was so obvious. What did she expect ? She laughed at her own stupidity.

Lupin finally looked at her, raising an eyebrow, silently asking her what was funny. She shook her head, and only wished he didn't have confiscated her bottle right now. Maybe if she managed to get even more drunk, the tight feeling in her chest would just disappear. His gaze stayed on her for a second before he opened his mouth. 

“There is an eyelash on your cheek,” he pointed. 

She passed her hand quickly on her cheek, before asking him if it was gone. 

“The other one.”

Her fingers brushed her other cheek, in vain because Lupin approached her. 

“Let me,” he said with a soft smile.

Before she could react, Lupin slowly put his finger on her right cheek. It lasted less than a second, but his touch on her skin felt like a burn she wanted to feel forever. He was so warm in comparison to the outside cold.

He put the eyelash away, and looked at Olivia, their eyes meeting. They were so close, and Lupin froze for a second. She could almost feel his breath on her. Olivia wasn't sure if the alcohol made her imagine things, but she believed his gaze glanced to her lips for a second before he took a step back. She only wanted him to feel him closer, so before he was too far, she grabbed his hand without thinking. 

Lupin looked at her, unsure of what to say. Olivia didn't look at his face, too scared to see an expression she didn't want to see. Instead, she focused on his hand she was holding with hers. He had little scars on the back, and she remembered the bad-mouthing that some of her peers had earlier. How could they talk badly about them when they showed how strong and beautiful he was ? Her eyes deviated to his long fingers. The surrounding veins were pulsing, and Olivia finally understood why people found hands attractive. Or maybe it was just his hand that was so magnificent. 

“You have big hands,” she said out of the blue.

Sober Olivia wouldn't have dared to make this comment, but sober Olivia wouldn't even be in this situation. The last part of her with a little of self-control made her still not look at him. She didn't want to see the weird look he probably had. She turned his hand, glad to see that Lupin didn't put any resistance. A long scar coming from somewhere on his forearm ended at the beginning of his palm, which mesmerized Olivia. She began to trace it with her own finger, wondering how he got this particular one. 

“Miss Montgomery…” Lupin finally said. 

His voice was lower than usual, as if it had been hard for him to say something. Olivia should have understood that it was time for her to stop, but she didn't. 

“Stop calling me by my last name,” she said suddenly. “You call everyone by their first name anyway. “ 

She had noticed how he called very students by their names in class, and only used their last name when he wanted to reprimand someone or be more serious. Everyone, but her. Sure, with how the two of them began the year, it was understandable at first, but now ? She often wondered if it was a subtle way to tell her that no, their relation had not improved, that it was still the same, and he still despised her a little. Maybe she had been the only one that had seen the beginning of some kind of friendship between them ? The alcohol on her was making her mind overflow with similar questions when Lupin made everything go away with a single word.

“Olivia…” He murmured, his voice cracking a little.

How come hearing her own name could be so satisfying? The Slytherin closed her eyes for a second, appreciating how it sounded coming out of his mouth. Then she finally felt brave enough to look at him. His eyes were already on her, darker than she ever saw. Her heart was beating so strong in her chest that he could probably hear it. He wasn't smiling, and Olivia wasn't sure what to think of his expression. Was he mad ? Was he… okay with it ? 

He slowly broke the eye contact to look at her hands still holding his, making Olivia suddenly realize what she was doing. She quickly let go of them, like the contact had suddenly burned her, but not in the way she wanted. 

She stammered some apologies, too embarrassed to look at him. The boldness that the fire whiskey had given her had flown away. She didn't let him have time to say anything, and she ran away. Lupin didn't have time to follow her because she was already inside the castle. He stayed at the same spot, his eyes focused on the hand she was holding a few moments ago. 

Like a ghost was after her, Liv didn't stop walking until she arrived at the stairs leading to her dorm. She could have returned to the party, but she didn't want anyone to see her in her current state. Her mind was about to explode. Why did she do that ? How stupid was she to act the way she did ? She was overflowing with emotions, and felt like her heart could jump out of her chest at any given point. Olivia fell on her bed, not caring about putting on other clothes. She put her arms above her eyes, cursing herself for acting this way. A growing headache found its way to the back of her head, and she began to realize how much she had drunk tonight. 

_ Never again _ , she decided before falling asleep miserably. 

* * *

Sunday morning was kind of blurry.

When Clara woke Olivia up, the brown haired Slytherin wasn't sure about how she got there last night. Basically, she remembered dancing, drinking, and that was it. After a quick shower where the memories were slowly coming back, Clara told her about the main event of the night, and Olivia slowly began to remember everything piece by piece. Still, she felt very uncomfortable drinking to this point. And to add to her misfortune, she had even forgotten to prepare some potions for the hangover, so she was probably going to be like that all day. 

When Andrew was mentioned, Clara told Olivia how bad the boy felt after she left, and insisted that the two of them talk about it now that none of them were under the effect of the alcohol. Liv agreed, still a bit pissed about how her friend acted last night.

She had all the time to remember everything about their argument as the two girls walked to the great hall for lunch, having missed breakfast. But because luck is always on Liv's side, Andrew and Oliver had decided to go eat at the same time. As the group saw each other, an awkward tension could be felt in the air. To everyone's surprise, Andrew opened his mouth first. 

“Liv, can we talk… please ?”

The Slytherin didn't think they would talk about it so quickly, but the sooner, the better. She agreed with a nod, and they distanced themselves from the rest of the group, leaving them to eat without them. Olivia crossed her arms, waiting for the boy to begin. Andrew took a deep breath, a sign he was uncomfortable and opened his mouth to talk. 

“I'm sorry.” He said immediately. 

Olivia raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, waiting for him to continue. 

“I acted like an asshole last night,” he admitted, finally looking at her in the eyes. “I was drunk, and just didn't think about my words. I know that doesn't excuse anything, but you need to know that the second I realized what I said, I felt terrible.”

“Yeah, that doesn't excuse anything.” Olivia said back.

Andrew pursed his lips, unsure what to do. Olivia took a second to think.

“Do you think what you said ?” she finally asked.

“What ?”

“That we were going to end up together,” she explained.

He passed his hand on his hair awkwardly. 

“I…” he hesitated. “I just thought what we have would become more… Serious. But I just misinterpreted and took it all of last night.”

“I thought we were on the same page about us. It's just, those past weeks, we weren't really doing much together ? Like we were back to friends, and I thought you were fine with it. 

“I am.” Andrew posed his hands on her shoulders to make her focus on him. “Liv, I love being your friend. I promise. You're one of my best friends, and I don't want to ever lose you.”

Olivia kindly smiled at those words, and Andrew continued. 

“It's just that some part of me hoped that we were going slowly because of school and everything. And that we were going to find moments together after…”

“All the work we had those last weeks did keep us apart,” Olivia admitted. “I just believed that since none of us were trying anything, we were both okay with it.”

“I see… “ Andrew paused. “Great communication I guess ?”

He let out a small laugh, which Olivia soon followed. The tension felt lighter, and Liv was happy to see that they could joke about it. She hesitated for a second to tell her next sentence, but she needed to know., 

“So… You want us to be a couple ?”

Andrew eyes widened at the question, and scraped his chin for a second before answering :

“I liked the idea, I admit. It's not like I'm not in love with you, don't worry. I just feel good with you, and I could see us being more on the long term. 

A knot on Olivia's stomach disappeared. She was happy to know that she wasn't completely breaking his heart. Feelings make everything so complicated. 

“But you told me from the start what you wanted, I know,” he added. “I'm sorry that I thought you could have changed your mind.”

“It's okay,” she said softly, passing her hand on his arms. “Maybe I could have, I just think it's not the right time for me…”

“I see… So… Do you forgive me ?”

Olivia smiled tenderly. 

“Of course. But in the sole condition that you apologize to Fred. You were rude to him too you know.”

The Gryffindor smiled.

“Already did this morning. Since when do you kiss ginger anyway ?” He joked. 

“Since when do you kiss someone random before being rude to me for doing the same ?”

Andrew took a step back. He almost thought that her friend was angry at him and was ready to apologize again, but when he saw the grin on Olivia's face, he smiled.

“Touché.”

Olivia giggled for a second. It felt good to see that the matter was already behind them. She cared so much for him, and was nervous about how the conversion could have gone. 

“Friends ?” Andrew asked, opening his arms for a hug.

Olivia smiled, and took him in her arms. 

“Friends.” 

Andrew held her tight, and Olivia could tell how scared he might have been too. She loved this boy so much, just not in the way he wanted. 

“By the way… Where did you go last night ?” He suddenly asked, still holding her. “I tried to go after you to apologize, but I couldn't find you.”

Olivia was about to respond when someone entered her sight. 

Lupin. 

The teacher immediately noticed her, and fixed her for a few seconds. Olivia's mouth opened slightly as she looked at her professor. The missing piece of the puzzle that was last night connected. 

The stars, the bridge, his hand… She remembered everything. 

Lupin finally looked away from the friends hugging together and walked into the great hall. Olivia couldn't read his emotions as he disappeared from her sight, but she knew one thing. 

She was fucked.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the longest chapter for the fic so far ! Almost 8k wow! It's an important one, with so much happening. The relation between Olivia and Andrew is complicated, but it's nothing in comparaison with the one she have with our dear Lupin. The two of them seem to have more and more moments together... ;)
> 
> Tell me what you thought of this chapter !


	20. Week passing by

**Chapitre Twenty :**

* * *

The last week of class before the Christmas holiday flew by. 

_Monday, December 13th_

After a party that everyone would remember, students got back to work. The few last days before the well awaited holidays was making the whole castle buzzing, only wishing the hours would go faster. Most of them would board on the Hogwarts express back to London in exactly one week, the final weekend being dedicated to a hogsmeade trip. 

In the first class of the day, Madame Proust made them work on an exported plant from Russia, and explained to them how to drain the poison off the petals without hurting themselves. Olivia and Clara were the first duo to success, and to their delight, they both gained ten points for their houses. 

Charms was about preparing them for wandless magic, something they would also work in the defense against the dark art class in January. They were just getting used to nonverbal spells, but they needed to advance to meet the requirement needed for the NEWT, so no one complained. 

After a lunch where Olivia ate more than she should have under the amused eyes of her friends, McGonagall made them work on human transfiguration. Olivia's full stomach almost spilled on the floor after a failed attempt of Clara to turn her into a rabbit. Liv wasn't doing any better and only managed to change Clara’s ears before the class ended. They would need to work on that. 

Potion was definitely her favourite class. Snape gave them back essays they had to do, and she had a perfect mark. The potions master even used her as an example of what he expected from his student to the rest of the class, and Olivia couldn't help to beam proudly for the rest of the lesson.. 

But when class ended, and she realized what was waiting for her, her mood immediately changed. At the end of the day, she walked to the DADA classroom with a heavy feeling on her chest. How was she supposed to act around him now ? She knocked on the wooden door as she usually did and put on the best mask she could. Her usual smile plastered on her face, she saluted the professor working at his own desk before seating at the one she had grown accustomed to. 

Lupin looked at her, and returned the smile, yet not as large as usual. After a few minutes of small talks concerning the homework she wanted to work on today, he asked the question she dreaded. 

“How was your weekend ?”

Olivia didn't quite believe in house stereotypes, but today, she hoped that the idea of the serpent being great liars was as true as they said. With a little laugh she hoped didn't sound too fake, she had innocently said she didn't remember it completely. It was a lie of course. She remembered perfectly the warm sensation of his hands against hers, the way her heart was beating stronger than ever before or the way his eyes looked after he said her name. She had repeated the scene in her head so many times that she could re-enact every word they shared under this starry night. But Olivia wasn't ready to face the repercussions of what happened. She didn't want to hear tell him how inappropriate she had been with him the other night. She didn't want him to think there was another reason for her act than a drunk student messing around. Because she didn't want to admit there was one maybe ? 

For once, Lupin didn't seem to catch the lie behind her words. Maybe he didn't want to. By chance, she had been drunk enough in front of him for the idea of a black-out plausible. Furthermore, the word of the party had gone around as soon as it was done, explaining how she could have been so drunk that she didn't remember. Lupin did not ask more, and only nodded thoughtfully at her answer. With the most natural smile she could have, she began working, and the rest of the detention ended in silence. 

But Olivia couldn't help but wonder what her professor was thinking at the moment. He was probably relieved not to have to deal with her, or the implications of what she had done. With chance, he would forget it quickly, and they would go back to their usual conversation she liked so much. 

But Olivia could lie to the handsome professor as much as she wanted, she couldn't lie to herself for much longer. She would have to confront the way her heart couldn't help but beat faster every time she thought of him at one point.

  
  


_Tuesday, December 14th_

Olivia liked waking up on Tuesday. Unlike Clara who was taking Study of ancient runes, she had only one class at the end of the morning, meaning she could sleep more. She rolled in her blankets, appreciating the warmth all around her. She let her eyes open slowly as she woke up. The slytherin stretched in a big yawn without care in the empty dorm. She took all her time in the shower, letting the burning water caress her soft skin for long minutes. 

Quickly dressed, she left the dungeons to eat a late breakfast before going to class. The great hall was mostly empty, and the Slytherin couldn't help but appreciate the peace and quiet surrounding her as she ate. 

Hours later, when her last period ended, she linked arms with Mia on the way to the quidditch arena. She felt like it has been forever since they practised. The blond haired Slytherin began to talk about the latest news she heard around the castle. The recent defeat of the Hufflepuff team against Ravenclaw had brought them in high spirits as it meant everyone could still win the cup. Also, someone had heard that once again, professionals would be here for the finals, making everyone even more ready to destroy the other teams. And on another unrelated note, Mia told her how happy she was that Liv and Andrew made up, because their fight had made everyone worried. 

Olivia was on fire during practice. No defence could block her, and she was scoring every single time the quaffle was in her hand. Marcus Flint tried to steal the ball from her multiple times, but she was too agile on her broom for him. In euphoria, she even marked one time standing up on her broom. The fall had not made her insecure about her flying capacity, even the opposite. Olivia wanted to see how much fun she could have this last year, and her time at the infirmary only made her remember her time on the team was ending soon and she should do the most of it. So, the practice ended with her fluttering as fast as she could around the arena under the amazed gaze of her younger teammates. 

These kinds of days made her feel like she could do anything.

  
  


_Wednesday, December 15th_

Unlike the previous day, Olivia woke up sooner than everyone else. For once, she was boiling with energy as soon as she posed a step out of her bed. Breakfast wasn't even beginning for another half an hour, and she was too awake to go back to sleep. So she decided to do something she thought she would never do : go for a run. If she was going to keep running around all year, she could at least work on her stamina. Nothing was less sexy than someone begging for breath after running for less than a minute. And it could always be useful for quidditch. 

She put on the first jogging she found in her trunk, grabbed a large jumper as she was sure it was cold outside, and left the dorm. She saluted the rare students that were already wandering the castle and walked outside. The sun wasn't up yet, the fresh air was making her shiver, and she had to convince herself that running would warm her up. 

Running was a weird sensation. First, after only five minutes, her legs were already aching and begging for her to stop. But Olivia wanted to prove to herself she could do it. So she kept on running, forgetting the pain growing on the side of her stomach. The Slytherin tried to focus on her breathing, and it became easier and easier with every minute passing. She could feel her whole body working as she moved : her leg muscles running warm, the fresh air in her lungs and the blood flowing into all her limbs. Mentally, nothing really mattered any more. She was only focusing on pushing forward, to see how far her body could take her. Her body still hurt, but it was only making her remember how alive she was at the moment. 

Still, it was her first time really jogging, so she stopped after thirty minutes as it began to be too hard. She had run all the way to the greenhouses, and leaned against one of them as she breathed heavily. She looked at the hill in front her, the sun finally rising. Every natural event seemed magical at Hogwarts, and the way the glowing ray of sunshine greeted the castle and the surrounding ground was no exception. It was beautiful, and just for that, she was happy she had woken up early. 

“What a sight, right ?” Said a voice suddenly.

Startled, Olivia looked around in surprise, but no one was around. Was she going crazy just for doing some sport ?

“Look up,'' the voice said, visibly amused.

She obeyed, and her eyes longed at the castle wall on her right, up to a window on the second floor. Lupin, a smirk on his lips, was looking at her with kind eyes. He must have just woken up, his hair was even messier than usual, making him look younger. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt, making Olivia wonder if he was in his pyjamas. She immediately understood the piece he was in was his chamber next to his office.

“Hi,” she greeted him

“Hi,” he said back with a smile, the one Olivia particularly loved.

“What are you doing so early ?” He asked.

“I… I had gone for a run,” she said a bit embarrassed when she realized how terrible she must be looking right now. 

Lupin raised a surprised eyebrow before nodding. 

“What about you ?” 

Lupin turned his head to look back at the sunrise. 

“I love waking up to this sight,” he said sincerely. “I have travelled a lot in my life, but nothing could ever compare to watching the sun rise above Hogwarts.”

As Lupin was lost in thought looking at the break of the day, Olivia couldn't look away from him. The orange glows meeting the rested face of her professor was simply breathtaking. His hair moving slowly against the wind and his silver scars shined in reflection to the sun, making them look like pure gold. She wished time would stop, so this sight would be all she could look at for the rest of her day. How could someone be so beautiful ? 

  
  
  


_Thursday, December 16th_

Just after lunch, in the middle of a charms' lesson, the first snowflake of the winter fell. It made everyone over excited, and they all stopped working to look at the windows. When professor Flitwick understood he could not gain back the attention of the class, he let them go early in an amused sigh. Like ten years old, the majority of the class ran outside. The snow was falling quickly, it was here to stay, and everyone could tell that Hogwarts would be soon wearing a white coat.

With the help of magic, the seventh year students made the little snowflake grow bigger in their hand until they were decent snowballs. They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to launch the attack. Mia was first, and threw the cold ball at a Ravenclaw next to her. He quickly avenged himself, and soon, everyone was engaged in a snowball fight, and hurried to transform as much as they could. Sadly, the battle was soon interrupted by Flinch, annoyed by all their amused yells. They had to go to class anyway. 

Olivia and Clara arrived at the DADA classroom covered in snow, accompanied by the few other people with the same schedule who were in the fight too. They were childishly laughing at each other. They entered the class, looking like idiots and when everyone who didn't know what just happened looked at them with an incompressible stare, they just laughed harder. 

“I see you guys had fun,” Lupin said from the front of the class with a smile.

Still chuckling, they nodded at him as they sat at their respective places. The class began in a good mood. They were still learning about nonverbal spells, and the majority of the class was perfecing it. Lupin was an excellent teacher and helped the few who still had trouble. At the end of the lesson, everyone had succeeded. The other practised more complicated spells, to see how comfortable they were. It was their last lesson on the matters, before they would start wandless magic. The two subjects were tied to one another, so it was best to practice as much as they could. At the end of the class, Lupin clapped in his hands to catch everyone's attention.

“Well everyone,” Lupin began next to his desk. “I'm proud to see how far you all got. I must confess that I was worried that it would take us longer for all of you to succeed, but I was wrong ! We will be soon back on the usual seventh year schedule, and you guys will face your N.E.W.T without any worries. Please continue practising during the holidays, that will be your sole homework from me !”

Everyone cheered, happy to see they will have one less massive homework to worry about. Everyone wished him a good holiday as they left the room, and Lupin replied to all of them with a big smile. When her friends left, Olivia was now alone in the room with him. She sat at her desk, and turned to him. Lupin was still standing next to his desk, his eyes on her. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He walked to her and stopped a few inches from her. 

“You still have snow in your hair,'' he said as his hand brushed something off Olivia's hair. “Magic snow doesn't go away as easily as natural one.” 

His hand didn't approach her skin, even though she desperately wanted him to. She wanted to feel the wrath of her skin like a few days ago. He walked back to his desk as she thanked him with a smile. 

“How did you know it was magic snow ?” She asked to divert his attention from her hot cheeks. 

“I have been a student too you know ? He joked as he sat at his desk. “I, too, couldn't wait for the snow to stick to engage in a snowball battle.”

Olivia smiled at the idea of a younger Remus Lupin playing in snow. What did he look like back then ?

“What kind of student were you back in the day ?”

Lupin thought for a second, a little smile on his lips as he remembered his school years. 

“I was… Something,” he laughed. 

Olivia put her head in her hands, always curious to learn more about him. 

“What does that mean ?” She inquired. 

Lupin looked at her directly, probably wondering how much he should tell her. 

“I was a good student, an excellent one if you must know,” he said with a little pretentious smile that made Olivia laugh.

“Obviously,” she teased. 

“But… I also spent a lot of time in detention,” he then confessed.

Olivia's eyes widened in surprise. Her reaction made him chuckle. 

“You were a troublemaker ?” She asked. 

“Something like that,” he said with a mischievous smile.

“You cannot say something like that and not tell me more !”

“I don't want to give you ideas…” He replied, still smiling.

She opened her mouth falsely shocked at what he was implying. 

Liv spent the rest of the detention trying to get more details about his past as a troublemaker. She only got crumbs, like the fact he was a Gryffindor but Olivia had already guessed it. He also had been prefect, which he had said with a proud smile. Still she wanted to know the side of him that got him in all those detentions, not the false perfect mask he teased her with. Still, like all the detentions that they spent talking, she didn't see time fly. It was only when she realized the sky was totally dark that she realized that it was almost time for dinner. Lupin realized too, and stood up, inviting her to do the same. He walked her to the door with a smile. Before leaving, she looked at him with a fierce determination. 

“I will get you to talk, I promise. You will not get away after dropping such interesting information to me,” she said with a serious smile.

Lupin looked at her kindly, and gave her the same mischievous smile he gave her earlier.

“Happy holiday, Miss Montgomery,” he simply responded as he opened the door. 

Liv froze a second at the use of her last name. She acted like she didn't remember what had happened on the bridge, so it shouldn't be a surprise he did the same. Still it felt weird.

“You too professor,” she said with a sincere smile. 

She looked one more time at the smile she had grown fond of and left the class. Lupin looked at her go, leaning against the doorway, and only closed the door when she was out of sight. 

It would be only hours later, as she was trying to fall asleep in her bed that Olivia realized that today had been her final detention with Lupin. Her heart tightened at the idea that now, she didn't have any reasons to be alone with him, and maybe today had been their last conversation. It was maybe her last time with this Lupin that only her seemed to know about. Her final thought before falling asleep was to wonder if he would miss those moments too.

  
  


_Friday, December 17th_

The day of the bad news. 

An owl came at lunch for Olivia. Aster, the messenger of the Montgomery family let a letter fall in front of Olivia's plate. She looked the owl flew away with a curious look : she wasn't expecting anything. She opened the letter under the interested look of her friends. 

_Dear Olivia,_

_I have the regret to inform you that my job at the ministry asked me an important task during the following weeks. I won't be able to spend those holidays with you. Best for you to stay at Hogwarts._

_Love,_

_Dad._

Olivia closed her eyes in a loud sigh. She did her best to contain the tears she felt coming to her eyes. She did not want to cry for such a matter. The letter was so unfamiliar, a good representation of her relation with her father recently. Was the task even real, or was he just trying to avoid spending Christmas with his child, now that his wife was gone ? Did he really not care to leave his only daughter alone for her first Christmas without her mother ? Great parenting for sure. 

When her friends asked her if she was okay, she passed the letter to them. She could hear Andrew mutter a little “Asshole” before Oliver hit him with his elbow. The stupidity of the action gave her a little smile. She opened her eyes to see her friends looking at her with worry. She quickly told her she was okay, that her father couldn't refuse a direct order. His job at the ministry was important, she knew it. Her friends were not stupid and saw though her lies, and a few seconds after, they were all hugging her, almost making her suffocate. When they went back on their seat, Oliver was the first to speak. 

“You know, my father had been absent a lot on Christmas. You know, don't take it personally,” he reassured her. 

His father worked in a different branch of the ministry, making Olivier the one who would relate the most. She smiled at him thankfully.

“I wish you could come for Christmas at mine,'' he continued apologetically, “but we are going to see my grandpa this year, and we will already be cramped.” 

“It's okay, don't worry,” she said at the unexpected proposition.

“Fuck”, said Clara next to her, “you already know we are going oversea for the holidays… I wish I knew sooner, we could have taken you a ticket…”

Before she could respond to her best friend, Andrew apologized too.

“Well, you know my family,” he said sadly, “I don't really have a say on how my holidays go…”

She smiled kindly at him. His family was complicated, composed of mostly pure blood who didn't like to see the family heir with people they didn't fit their expectation. 

“Really, thank you, but it’s okay. I will spend it here, there are worse places to be I guess,” she finished with a smile.

She was right, she had already spent a Christmas with her friends in the castle, and the place was amazing at this period of the year. There would be another Christmas with her dad, but it was her last opportunity to spend it here. In a way, it was nice when she thought it that way. 

Her friends promised her they would come back from their holidays for the new year, like they had planned to do. She hugged them one last time, thankful for them. 

  
  


_Saturday, December 18th_

Hogsmeade was crowded. People were buying last minute presents in case they couldn't buy something else before Christmas. Olivia was accompanying Clara in Gladrags Wizardwear as the purple haired girl searched for a funny magical item clothing she could offer her parents. Wandering in the alley of the shop, Liv’s eyes fell on a pair of gloves on one of the stands. It immediately made her remember Lupin's scarf, the one still hidden in her trunk. She still hasn't given it back, mostly because he still hadn't asked her to. She liked the idea of having something belonging to him, but she knew she would have to give it back soon. The gloves were a similar tone of green, and the materials were terribly soft. 

_Lupin would look good with them_ , she thought. 

When she left the shop ten minutes later to go to the three broomsticks, one of her arms was crossed with Clara's, the other one holding a little shop bag containing the said gloves. She told her friend she had bought herself a new pair of socks, cautious of what she would say if she knew the truth. She didn't want her to think anything was going on with their professor.

  
  


_Sunday, December 19th_

Olivia was tranquilly eating her breakfast in the great hall when two pairs of ginger sat across her. Fred and George Weasley looked at her with a big smile on their lips. 

“We heard you were going to spend Christmas alone,” Fred began.

“So we thought we would invite you to spend it with us, '' George continued. 

Olivia put her orange juice down, surprised by the kind proposition. She looked at them with a smile, and her eyes fell on Fred a bit longer. The boy and she had a conversation after the party in which Olivia made sure Fred didn't have a crush on her. She wouldn't want the Andrew situation happening again. The boy told her not to worry, that he was just having fun as she did, and the Slytherin was relieved. 

“That's very kind of you boys,” she said, “but I think I will stay here, enjoy my last winter in Hogwarts. 

“Are you sure ?” Fred insisted, “Mom and dad would be happy to see you.”

Olivia nodded. She loved the Weasley family. Arthur and her father knew each other for years, and she had spent more than one evening at the burrow. She even spent one Christmas there years ago with her mom and dad. It was a great memory looking back. Sadly, with the years passing Percy and her grew to be different people, and were not very close. They didn't dislike each other, but weren't friends, so she did not have the opportunity to go back as often as she wanted. Because of that, she barely knew the two youngest siblings of the family, never having time to really get to know them. Still, she really appreciated the fact that the twins proposed to spend time with them. 

“You will not change your mind, even if we tell you that Charlie would be here ? We know how much you missed our brother…” teased George. 

She looked at the twins with shocked eyes. How did they know about her crush on him, was she so obvious back in the day ? She gave them a little slap behind their heads as they continued to tease her. The idea of seeing the charming ginger was pleasant, but she still refused. Her mind was too clouded by someone else anyway.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An in between chapter ! The events of the party will come back, don't worry ;)


	21. Christmas (1)

**Chapter Twenty One :**

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was leaving in approximately five minutes and Olivia was standing at the hogsmeade station hugging her friends as tight as she could. They weren't going to be away for long, but still, she was going to miss them. 

“You guys better bring me back some presents,'' she joked before they got in the train. 

They waved her a final goodbye from their compartment, and Olivia watched the locomotive go until it was out of her sight. She sighed at the realization she was going to be alone for a bit of time. She looked up at the big clock above her. Ten am. The train had left on time, like always.

She left the station slowly, not really in a rush to go back to the loneliness waiting for her in the castle. She said she was going to be fine, but maybe she should have accepted the Weasley proposition after all. It was too late anyway. 

The snow had continued to fall for the last few days, and Hogsmeade was a white as Hogwarts. The place was beautiful, and Olivia knew she was going to spend some days of her holidays wandering in the village if Dumbledore gave her the authorization. If he didn't, she just would have to be discreet. 

She was beginning to walk back to the castle when she saw Lupin going out of The three broomsticks. After hesitating an instant, she walked to him. 

“A little early to go for a drink, don't you think ?”

Lupin, who hadn't realized her presence, gave her a surprised smile. He put his hand in the pockets of his robes before replying.

“Damn, you caught me,” he joked with familiarity.

Olivia smiled, and Lupin looked at her with curiosity. 

“You aren't going home for Christmas ?” He asked. 

“No,” she simply replied not wanting to go into details, “what about you ?”

“Don't have really anywhere to go,'' he admitted.

He didn't sound sad, more like he was so used to it and it didn't really matter any more. Olivia nodded, looking at the floor, unsure of what to respond to that. 

“You must be happy,” he suddenly said. 

She looked at him with curious eyes, not sure to understand what he was implying. 

“That you don't have detentions any more,” he continued.

“Oh.”

How was she supposed to say that it was actually the opposite ? That she was already longing for their discussions about their mutual interest ? That she was already thinking about doing something stupid just to be sure they wouldn't stop? She couldn't, obviously. 

“It will feel weird” she finally answered.

It was the more honest answer she could give him. Lupin looked at her, before smiling a little. 

“It will.”

Olivia couldn't help but get her hopes up. Was he going to miss those unique times too ? The two looked at each other in a comfortable silence, both deep in their thoughts. 

Lupin broke eye contact after a long minute.

“I have some business to attend to,” he said gently, “I will see you later.”

After giving his student a final smile, he walked away in the village. Olivia looked at him go, realizing she would at least see him during those holidays. The next two weeks already seemed better. 

* * *

After spending her first day reading in her bed and working on homework, Olivia decided to go eat dinner when her stomach began rumbling. 

One of the good points of being on holidays was that she didn't have to be in uniform at all. She could wander around in her comfy clothes and no one could tell her not to. Olivia put on a large sweatshirt and walked out of her dorm, playing with the laces. She arrived at the dinner hall quickly and looked at the room. 

During the holidays, less than a dozen students had stayed at the castle. Ron and his friends, a few other students that Olivia didn't know and only one other Slytherin that she had spoken to maybe twice in her life. The majority of the professor had decided to stay this year, probably because of Black. Still, there weren't many people in the castle, and the dinner hall had been rearranged for the occasion. 

In the spirit of conviviality, the large wooden tables had disappeared to be replaced by a single one in the centre of the room. Students and professors were to share it during the meals. Olivia finds the idea nice, as it would have been a little sad to be only two on their large house table. 

She walked inside, and smiled at the people already seated. At the end of the table, facing the entrance, Dumbledore looked up at her.

“Miss Montgomery, come join us,” he invited her with a smile.

Olivia sat at one of the remaining seats, at the middle of the table. All the other students were already here, some more awkward than the other to be among their professors. Olivia was comfortable among them, as she was soon to be an adult. The famous trio was in a deep conversation with Hagrid at the other end of the table, and the others were listening to McGonagall’s advice about their exams at the end of the year. She met the eyes of Dumbledore and smiled.

“How was your day ?'' asked the headmaster as he took a sip from his drink.

“Good,” she responded, “a bit long, but good. What about you ?”

“Great,” he simply responded in his usual mysterious tone.

She began to serve herself a plate when someone's footsteps caught her attention. Lupin walked to the table with his hand in his pocket, a gentle smile on his face. He saluted his colleagues and the other students before seating in one of the empty seats in front of her. He gave Olivia a quick smile, the kind that made her feel like she was unique. Flitwick, seated on the right side of Olivia, immediately engaged in conversation with the DADA professor, asking him about his progress with the different year. Lupin gladly responded, happy to talk about his teaching. 

“The seventh year is doing great,” he said after going through the previous year. 

Olivia, who was listening to the conversation as she ate, couldn't help but have a proud smile on her lips. 

“They will be fully prepared for their N.E.W.T, I'm sure,” he continued. “Unless they spent all their time doing something else...Like fooling around or drinking around the castle.”

He said the final words with a smirk on his face and Olivia almost choked on her water. Coughing like her life depended on it, all eyes were now on her, curious and worried at the same time. No one seemed to link what was happening with the teacher's previous sentence, she was the only one who could understand. 

“Are you okay Miss Montgomery ?” Lupin asked as if he wasn't the cause of her near death experience.

_Bastard._

She stopped coughing, and gave him a thumbs up, not looking at him directly. She didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling right now, proud of the reaction he gave her. 

Professor Flitwick patted her back as she sat back correctly. Olivia gulped a little. He had mentioned the event of the famous night so casually, and in consideration of her reaction, she couldn't deny the fact that she did remember what had happened. Did he do it on purpose ? Probably. That means he had called her bluff a long time ago, and it was his payback. Liv didn't know if she prefered him teasing her or having to really discuss it. She just hoped he wouldn't mention it again.

She was about to meet his eyes again when a voice interrupted. 

“What is happening here ?'' Said the serious voice of Severus Snape as he entered the room. 

The whole table went quiet. His eyes were on Olivia, wondering what caused her current state. Surprisingly, it was Dumbledore who responded. 

“Our dear student just happened to have choked on her water,” he explained with an amused tone, “but she is better now.” 

Olivia gave the head of her house a quick smile to confirm, and he nodded. He looked over at the table, and he frowned when he saw that the last seat available was next to Lupin. He didn't even hide his displeasure as he sat next to him, but everyone was used to with his bad mood, and went back to their conversation. Lupin discreetly looked at Olivia with a childish grin and she only wished she had something on him that she could use to mess with him. 

“Have you thought of my proposition Miss Montgomery ?” Suddenly asked the potion master.

Olivia looked at him, having to remember for a second what he was talking about 

“It would be my pleasure,” she responded with a sincere smile.

Snape nodded, and was about to eat when Lupin turned to Olivia. 

“What proposition ?”

Snape shot him a look saying “Mind your business” but Lupin didn't care. He kept his eyes on Olivia, waiting for a response. Olivia couldn't help but smile at the sight before her eyes. The two men in front of her were pure opposites. One was dark, in his outfit or mind, and the other looked like a ray of sunshine in comparison. 

“Professor Snape kindly offered me to assist him in his work as a Potion master sometimes during the Holidays,” she explained. “To have more experience.”

Snape had proposed to her when she had told him she was going to stay for the holidays. Olivia couldn't help to see the gesture as a way to occupy her mind during those lonely times, and was grateful to him about it. 

Lupin looked at the man next to him, visibly surprised. Was Olivia the only one seeing kindness behind those severe features ? 

Her wondering was interrupted when she heard one of the trio at the end of the table saying “I'd rather get kissed by a dementors”, and smiled when Snape gave them a look that could probably kill. 

* * *

The following days all looked the same. Olivia would wake up at ungodly hours, go for a late breakfast and then either chill in the common room or work on some homework. Sometimes, she would wander around the castle, as to memorize those familiar hallways before the school year came to an end. She would have discussions with the painting she had never talked before, listen to the stories of the ghosts that she encountered or even sneak into the prefect bathroom to enjoy those enormous baths. Good for her that the password had never changed over the years. She also trained for quidditch, but it was less interesting alone. Once, she sneaked into hogsmeade and went back with a bag full of snacks that she had eaten in one evening next to the fire.

At least one hour a day, she would join Severus Snape in his office to assist him. The man showed her all the duty of a potion master, and how she could become one. She helped him with the important commands he had for private clients and sometimes even for the ministry. He made her work on potions that created stars in her eyes in excitement, but also paperwork, to remind her that the job of a Potions Master was more complicated than it seemed. She learned how to price her potions, and some tricks to make people want to buy from her rather than other sellers. Olivia was not stupid, she knew that Snape was doing that in hope she would follow his path and decide to work in the field of potions, but she didn't mind. She liked it so much that it made her forget her doubts about her future for a moment. 

Sadly, Lupin was nowhere to be found the next few days after he almost made her choke to death. Olivia had hoped then that now that the detentions were over, she could still have some nice moments with him. It was complicated to do so if he wasn't even around. McGonagall said he had to visit someone, and she didn't know when he would come back. But after a few days without seeing him, she missed his presence more than she would admit, so she had to do something. 

So, on the 24th, Olivia walked up to the DADA classroom. The door wasn't closed, so she went freely inside. She walked up the stairs leading to the office of her professor and knocked a few times. No response. She did it one more time, this time a bit harder, but the result was the same. Olivia sighed a little, looking at the class for a minute. Her hand on the handle, she hesitated for a few seconds before opening the door gently. 

“Professor Lupin ?” Olivia asked as she opened the door. 

With the empty silence for a response, she dared to put a foot into the room. She wasn't really supposed to go into a teacher office without permission, but it wouldn't be her first time doing it. The warmth of the fireplace made her at ease and welcomed. Immediately, her curiosity took the best of her. Her eyes flickered to every corner of the room she hadn't seen before.

Lupin was not lying, he had an impressive book collection. Not only the shelves were full, but many books were lying all round the place, even on the floor. Many that Olivia knew, but also so much she had never heard about. Her finger passer over the spine of a few of them. She let out an appreciative whistle as she looked at their names. There was everything, fiction, historic one, biography, spell books, muggle novels, and many were not even in English. 

Objects she couldn't name were displaying all around the room, raising wonder about how and where he got them. Would he tell her about his adventures if she asked ?

His desk was more messy than she would've thought. Many essays were laying all over, waiting to be graded, next to multiple empty tea cups. The record player on the side of the table made Olivia smile. Of course there would be a Beatles' vinyl waiting to be played. She wished she could see how Lupin acted when he was alone. Does he hum the songs playing as he works on his desk ? Was the type of person to make some little dance move as he serves himself a cup of tea ? The idea of laying on the sofa on the side of the room and watching him be so comfortable was a sight to behold for Olivia. 

One more look around made Olivia smile. The piece was like Lupin, warm and comfortable. 

She looked at the package she was holding. Folded like it was new, she put his scarf on his desk. It wasn't without sorrow she gave it back, but she knew she couldn't keep it forever. After feeling the soft material with her hand one last time, she put something else on it. The gloves she had seen last time were nicely wrapped, and she really hoped he would like them. In a way Liv was happy he wasn't around, or she would have been a bit hesitant to offer him a gift. She grabbed an empty paper lying around and wrote a quick note she put above the items. 

_Thank you for bearing with me._

_Merry Christmas._

_Olivia._

She left the room with a satisfied smile. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The holidays begin... Let's just hope they will behave.. or not ?


	22. Christmas (2)

**Chapter Twenty Two**

* * *

On Christmas Morning, Olivia walked to the grand hall like it was any other day. She was still half asleep, and more focused on putting one foot in front of the other than anything else. It was the gigantic Christmas tree that welcomed here made her realize what day it was. The room was also heavily decorated, making Liv remember how she used to decorate her house with her mom. 

_ First Christmas without her,  _ she thought as her heart tightened in her chest. __

One other person was seated at the large table, one of the younger students that had also stayed there. A sweet Hufflepuff named Julie. Liv had the occasion to talk with her a few times in the last past days, and found her shy but very nice. Olivia smiled at her as she sat a bit further at the table, not really into the mood of talking so early in the morning. She began to eat as usual, appreciating the delicious eggnog made for the special occasion.

A few minutes later, the familiar sound of Aster made her look up from her meal. The owl let a package fall from his claws, and Olivia managed to catch it before it fell into any plates. It was a little box wrapped in a sober colour, and a note was tied to it. 

_ Merry Christmas.  _

_ Dad. _

Olivia frowned at the lack of affection in his writing. He was busy with work, but still… She had sent him a present yesterday, and had written a long letter to him in which she said how she missed him and also mom. She expected a bit more from him. The young woman put the bad thought aside, and unwrapped the box. She opened it and discovered inside a silver necklace with a floral ornament. Liv raised it a little to look at it better. It was cute, but it wasn't really her style. But her mom had always been the one to buy her this kind of gift before, so her dad was probably doing his best. Her lips moved into a sad smile, realizing how distant she had grown with him those past few months. After a final look at the chain she put the box aside, not even trying on the necklace. She would send him a letter in the evening to thank him, no matter how she felt really about his present. He was trying, it was the most important. 

After she was done eating, she went back to her dorm to put on more civilized clothes. She put the box on her night stand, among the other objects that had a special place in her heart. The amazing picture of Clara and her, the muggle watch of her mother, and a chocolate bar she didn't find the heart to eat since she got it. 

An image of him immediately popped into her mind and she rolled her eyes for herself, well conscious of how cheesy she could act sometimes. She had always been proud of being this independent and strong woman, who didn't need someone to feel worthy. And here she was, smiling at the stupid thought of him. Why ? How could someone grow into her skin in such a quick time, not letting her a chance to resist it ? Was she becoming those girls she had always despised, the one batting their eyelashes to the person they liked just for an ounce of recognition ? The one who didn't seem to think about anything else ? 

Suddenly, like the ghost of her feminist mother slapped Olivia from the afterlife, she suddenly felt ashamed of her own misogyny. 

Why was she judging those girls so harshly ? Liking someone doesn't make you more or less of a person, no matter how you act around them. Those girls could be as brilliant as the next person, but Olivia clouded perception only pictured them as annoying romantic girls, simply because she had never tried to truly know them. She shouldn't have decided on their worth just because of that, they were as strong women as she was. She was proud of who she was, and she shouldn't shame others or herself for fitting in this stereotype of the flustered girl. 

Olivia took a long breath, now more conscious of how flawed she had been. She probably still was, but this realization was a good step to begin with. 

The Slytherin he spent the rest of the morning in the library, working a little after sending a “Thank You” card to her father. Later, she found herself walking to the great hall for lunch in the company of madam Pince. The lady was telling her about some great books that could interest the student, and Olivia realised that she never had a personal conversation with her. She had always been the kind to talk too loudly and had always thought the older woman didn't really like her. She was happy to see that it didn't seem to be the case. In the calm of the castle, Liv could see everyone in a different light. 

Lunch was very nice, and the atmosphere of Christmas made everyone in a good mood. The table was all listening to Dumbledore talking about his days as a professor, making them laugh with funny anecdotes. 

Even if she was listening, Olivia couldn't help to see that Lupin was still not among them. He had told her he would be there for the holidays, but he wasn't. She wondered what made him change his mind, especially when he told her he had nowhere else to go. She pouted a little, but quickly went back to listening to the old wizard at the end of the table. 

After they were done eating, McGonagall proposed to those who were interested to play some magical cheese. Dumbledore had offered her a new set for Christmas and she would love to try it. The other Slytherin, Ron and his friends happily accepted. Olivia didn't have anything to do before joining Snape in the dungeons in a few hours, so she stayed with them. She wasn't wonderful at it, but it was still fun to watch. Obviously, McGonagall won against everyone with a smile, even if the young red haired made her play more seriously a few times. Then, the transfiguration teacher invited Olivia to play, and because she wasn't the kind to refuse a challenge, she accepted with a smile. Of course, she didn't win the game, but that only made the Slytherin ask for a return match. After a few other games against the older lady, Olivia didn't even come close to winning. She pouted a little, wishing she could have the pride to say she had defeated the amazing wizard in front of her. She looked at Ron, who was watching them play alongside the others.

“Please, one day, beat her at chess,” Olivia said to him.

The young boy looked at her, a bit surprised she had talked to him. He knew that she was close to some members of his family, but the two never really had a conversation before. The fact that she was a Slytherin probably also made him cautious of her, so he simply nodded for a response. She gave him and his friends a smile before standing up. She thanked her professor for entertaining her before leaving the room. 

She made her way to the dungeons without rush, and knocked on the door of Snape's office. A voice on the other side told her to come in, and she walked inside.

“Merry Christmas professor,” she said to the man that wasn't present for lunch.

Snape looked up from the paper he was reading, frowning a little. 

“Ah yes… Merry Christmas to you too,” he said as he had forgotten what day it was. 

Olivia had thought of bringing a gift to her mentor, but it had been so complicated to find something that he would like that she gave up. She waited for a minute for him to be done with what he was doing before he brought back his attention to her. He had received an important command for a rich pure blood family, so he and Olivia began working on it. They began with some  _ draught of living peace _ before working on its antidote, the  _ Wideye _ potions. As they finished the first potions, Snape sent Olivia looking for the ingredients needed to continue. She quickly grabbed them, but as she arrived at the last ingredient, she frowned. 

“Professor,” she said to the man in the other piece. “I think you are running out of Aconite.” 

She walked to him with the ingredients and deposited them on the table. The jar containing the aconite was almost empty, just enough for what they had to do. The potions master looked at her with a curious look, like he hesitated to say something. 

“Oh yes…” He finally responded as if it was almost funny. “I taught the third year how to do Wideye potions last week, I must have forgotten to refill it.” 

Olivia raised an eyebrow. One, since when does Severus Snape forget to refill his own ingredients ? Second, she had been here multiple times this week, and she was sure that there had been more a few days ago. She didn't question the man about it, but didn't let go of the weird feeling that she was missing something. After another hour of working diligently, they were done. Snape thanked her for her help, giving Olivia a proud feeling of satisfaction as she left.

She went back to her dorm where she took a long shower to get off the odour of the potions that had infiltrated her clothes. Then, she laid on her bed for the rest of the afternoon, reading and casting some spells to entertain herself.

When it was time to go for dinner, she found the younger Slytherin leaving at the same time as her, and she smiled at him. The boy’s name was Keith, and he was a quiet and reserved kid. He didn't talk much, so Olivia principally talked on their way to the great hall, giving him advice on various subjects. 

Dinner went nicely, like always. Still, Olivia couldn't help but look at the only empty chair at the table. Lupin was still away, and she wondered when he would get her present. After they were done eating, she found herself longing for a walk. She saluted the professors before going on her way. 

By coincidence, she began walking a few meters away from the famous trio. Liv looked at the ginger laughing ahead of her. She wondered why he wasn't at the burrow, in the warmth and comfort of his home. Should have she accepted the offer to celebrate Christmas there ? Maybe. Could have she insisted on going back to her own house instead ? She didn't miss her room very much, as she had grown accustomed to her dorm, but the calm of it was still relaxing some time. London could be so much fun at Christmas time, and she could have wandered in Diagon alley to kill her boredom. Maybe even celebrate Christmas in muggle London, in a pub or something like that. But she would have been happy to go back to an empty and cold house, where none of her parents would be her to hug her as they celebrated ? Maybe that was the reason her dad wanted her to stay here ? 

The moving stairs she was walking on made her remember the only other time she had stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas. It was in her fourth year, when her parents had decided to go on a nice trip just the two of them. They had made sure she was okay with it first, and they had planned it so early she had the time to convince all her friends to stay too. They had spent the whole holidays playing around, carefree as they were. They had played the biggest game of hide seek with all the other kids there, and the whole holidays had been so chaotic. She remembers running the stairs with Oliver as they searched for a place to hide, laughing so loudly the paintings told them to quiet down. 

The sudden cold breeze on her skin broke her out of her thoughts. She had walked outside without even realizing. She looked at where she was and couldn't help but smile. 

_ The stone bridge, of course.  _

Was she missing Lupin so much she had walked all the way to this place just to remember him on that famous night ? Probably. She sat on the edge of the bridge, her legs in the void. As she looked at the horizon, she only wished that she wasn't alone right now. She wanted to see her mom, her dad, her friends and… 

“Hi,” said a voice behind her. 

_ Him. _

Like she had done last time she was here, she turned her head to discover Lupin, standing there with a soft smile on his face. The feeling of happiness that Olivia felt as she looked at him was so intense. She had truly missed him. He was looking tired, and Olivia put that on the fact he just got back from his trip. She was too happy to see him to care about how he looked.

“Hi,” she responded

“Merry Christmas,'' he said as he walked to her. 

He put his hand on the edge as looked at the horizon in front of them, and Olivia immediately noticed the pair of gloves he was wearing. The one she had got him. She beamed, and as she went back to look at his face, he was already looking at her with a tender smile. 

“Merry Christmas,” she said, “I hope you liked my present.”

He raised his hands to look at the gloves better. 

“Very much, thank you. You didn't have to.”

“That was the least I could do, I stole your scarf for so long…”

He let a small laugh out of his lips, and Olivia remembered how much she liked this sound. It brought her a feeling of warmth unmatched. 

“I really didn't expect to find a present on my desk as I…” he paused for a second. “As I came back from where I was. It was a nice surprise.”

Lupin looked at his new gloves like they were his most prized possessions and Olivia wondered how long it had been since someone offered him a present. The thought that It might have been a long time simply made her want to give him the world. 

“But as it was a surprise,” he continued, “I don't have anything for you, I'm sorry.”

He looked sincerely sorry, and Olivia couldn't help but find it endearing. 

“It’s okay, I didn't expect you to.”

He leaned on the edge of the bridge, thinking. The wind made his hair fly away, which mesmerized Olivia. 

“I can offer you something else ?” He proposed. 

Their eyes met and Olivia hoped he couldn't see all the indecent ideas his sentence had given her. 

“You wanted to know if I was a troublemaker last time,” he said with a mischievous smile. “Maybe I could tell you ?”

Olivia immediately nodded, a large smile on her face. She wanted to know everything about him. Lupin smiled before pausing for a few seconds, searching how to explain.

“I had a group of friends,” he began as looked at the horizon. “A very close one. We found each other at the beginning of our time in Hogwarts, and immediately became inseparable.”

Lupin looked happy to remember those memories, but at the same time, sadness could be heard in his voice. 

“During my time at Hogwarts, I had great grades, was a prefect, and if I can say it without sounding too high on myself, I was known for being a perfect student.” 

Olivia smiled. It fitted perfectly the image she had of him.

“But most people don't know I used all the intelligence I had for something else... Mischiefs.”

“Mischiefs ?” Olivia repeated with astonishment.

“Yes. My friends and I loved causing pranks and troubles all around the castle. We spent our seventh years here trying to outsmart ourselves every time. It was amazing. McGonagall must still have nightmares about the time we flooded the entire castle with soap during the night. 

“You did what ?!”

Lupin laughed heartily at the shocked expression of the Slytherin. Olivia didn't expect that at all from the collected man next to her. 

“We did so much more, but I can't tell you everything…”

“Why ?!”

He looked at her, smirking. 

“Because I can't have you doing it of course. I don't want the history of Hogwarts to remember anyone else as the biggest pranksters in this castle.”

Olivia smiled. She had caused some trouble over the years, but next to what Lupin and his friends seemed to have done, it was nothing. She looked at the man next to her, smiling proudly of the reaction he gave her. 

“Just… Wow. Sounds like you and your friend were something.”

He paused, his smile fading a little.

“We were.”

“And where are those friends now ?”

Olivia immediately regretted her question when she saw the troubled expression of her professor. 

“Not around.”

_ Oh. Dead _ , she immediately thought.  _ Way to go Olivia.  _

“I see,” she responded awkwardly.

The two of them stayed silent for a minute, both fixing the horizon. Lupin was the first to talk again. 

“I hope you are doing okay.”

Olivia frowned. 

“About what ?”

“About the fact that this is your first Christmas without your mother,” he said cautiously. 

“Oh.” she responded, taken aback. “It's… Weird. I expected myself to cry, but no. When I think about it, I just… feel numb.”

Lupin looked at her face seriously, choosing his next words for a few seconds. 

“The first important events without the person we love by our side often feels like it’s not really happening,” he said. “It feels like you are just going to wake up, like it was only a bad dream, and they will be there next to you, like nothing happened.”

Olivia nodded. He had resumed her thoughts so easily, and that only confirmed that he had also lost people.

“Does it ever stop hurting ?” She asked. 

Lupin looked down, in the void beside them.

“No,” he paused. “But it gets easier.”

She nodded quietly at his response. How long would it take her ? 

The two of them stayed silent for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Olivia glanced to her right, and looked at the profile of the man next to her. How come Lupin seemed to always find the right words with her ? Was he just full of wisdom, or was the simple fact that he was the one talking that made his words meaningful ? Olivia didn't know. Probably both. As if Lupin felt her gaze on him, he turned to face her. Olivia didn't look away, and simply smiled. A smile full of gratitude, kindness, and feelings she was slowly accepting. He smiled back, and the two of them stayed there, deep in the contemplation of the other for a few seconds. 

Lupin decided to break the moment, and yawned a little as he looked away. 

“It seems I'm still a bit tired after… being away. I should go rest now.” 

Liv couldn't help but want to stay with him longer. She wanted to catch up for all the time she had wanted to see him for the past few days. Sadly, she couldn't really ask him to. She smiled at him as he turned away. 

“Have a good night professor Lupin.”

The man who had only taken a few steps stopped, and hesitated for a second before saying. 

“Remus.”

“Hum ?” Olivia frowned. 

Lupin turned to look at her, an innocent smile on his lips. 

“My name. You wanted to know. It’s Remus.”

Olivia immediately remembered the first detention they had, where she had annoyed him to know his name. The detention that started everything for her. She smiled at him, happy to see he remembered those details about the two of them.

“I see,” she simply responded. 

After a last nod of his head to say goodbye, he began walking away. Just before he walked back inside, Olivia said one more thing.

“Good night Remus.”

The man turned to look at her one more time. Olivia was smiling proudly, happy to be able to use his name like that. She hoped he wasn't going to scold her for being too familiar, but at this moment, she didn't care. 

Lupin looked at her for a few seconds, then smiled devilishly to her, fixing his eyes deep into her. 

“Good night Olivia.”

The stupid smile she had on her face quickly faded away, only to be replaced by a flustered expression. Lupin said nothing more, and walked away, a grin on his face. Olivia looked at him disappear, frozen in the same position. He had said her name. Again. Even though she liked to hear him say it, more than she would ever admit, she couldn't help but be curious. He wasn't even trying to hide that he knew she remembered the last time he called her Olivia. Why ? Wouldn't it be in his best interest to dismiss those memories and to move on ? Why was he on the contrary, reminding her of it lately ? Liv didn't understand the man. 

Olivia put her hands on her cheeks, as to confirm how warm and red they were. She blushed way too much because of him. But at the same time, she didn't mind. She felt good with him, at ease. 

It wasn't just his handsomeness that she appreciated. It wasn't just his smile, or the way he passed his hand through his hair to mess them that she just liked. She wasn't just attracted to him. Olivia also liked the way he talked passionately about the latest book he had read, or how he never seemed to be out of a subject of conversation. She liked his tendency to drink too much tea and coffee than recommended. She liked how well he taught, how he knew how to make things interesting. Olivia liked knowing that she knew him differently than everyone. She liked how he always knew how to make her smile and how she felt when he said her name. She liked being with him, every time… 

The Slytherin sighed in a smile. She couldn't deny it any more

She liked him. She liked bloody Remus Lupin. 

In the cold night, Olivia laughed. She laughed at her own stupidity, for not having accepted it sooner, even though everything in her was screaming how she felt about him. But she also laughed at the fact that Clara was right from the beginning. 

She had grown fond of him. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much is happening ! The relationship between Olivia and her father, Snape being a bit weird, Olivia realizing her own sexism (it was important for me to talk about it) and most importantly... 
> 
> Remus ! It's actually the first time his first name is used in this story, as Liv just find out about it ;) The two of them using each other first name is an important step, because it has meaning for them !  
> Olivia finally accept her feeling toward our dear Lupin ! I wanted her to have a real moment of acceptation and realization, so here it was :) I love the two of them so much ;)


	23. Dog Therapy

**Chapter Twenty Three**

* * *

“So you see… there is this guy.”

Olivia looked down at the dog whose head was resting on her lap. The black furred head didn't move, too happy to feel her hand scratching behind his ears. 

Since the holidays began, Olivia had made progress with the large animal. Every time she walked on the ground of the castle, she brought some food with her in case she saw him. It helped her gain his trust. The animal only appeared when she was alone, and Olivia put that on the fact that he was probably scared of people. In a way, she felt honoured that the animal was now letting her close. It was a slow process : at first he let her pet her head only as he ate, then he felt comfortable spending time sitting next to her. Now, the animal was confident enough to rest next to her, and to let Liv pet him without any worries. 

The dog opened his eyes, as to invite the girl to continue. In a strange way, Olivia found the dog to be a great listener. 

“I recently came to admit that he was just more than attractive… that I fancied him.”

Olivia looked in front of her, at the frozen black lake. 

“But I don't know what to do,” she admitted. “Our situation is a bit… complicated, so I can't really go up to him and be like ‘Hey, I kinda fancy you. Wanna go out sometimes ?”

The girl chuckled at the idea. Yeah, she couldn't do that. 

She looked back at the dog, and met his dark grey eyes. She had never met such an expressive dog. Like a human, it kept his eyes on her, not once looking away. Do animals even know about eye contact ? Anyway, it made her like the dog even more. 

“But maybe the best decision would be to just wait for this stupid crush to go, right ?”

The dog didn't respond, obviously. Olivia nodded at her own idea. Yeah, that's what she should do. With time, it would just go away. That was the most intelligent decision. 

But how could she when everything seemed to bring her and Remus together ?

As if the universe wanted forgiveness for taking Lupin away for a few days, the two of them couldn't help but encounter each other in every corner of the castle. 

It had begun the following morning after their talk on the bridge. 

Olivia had gone to eat breakfast late in the morning, as she usually did. As she stepped into the great hall, she couldn't help but smile. One other person was sitting at the wooden table in the middle of the room. Focused on a copy of the daily prophet, Lupin was peacefully sipping a cup of tea.

“Hello,” Olivia greeted him as she walked to the table.

Lupin looked up from the paper he was reading and immediately smiled at the student. She sat down in front of him, and Lupin put down the paper, as to focus all his attention to her. 

“Good morning,” he said, still smiling. “Did you sleep well ?”

“I did ! What about you ?”

“So did I. I feel completely rested for once. That probably explains why I overslept,” he added in reference at the advanced hour of the day. 

“Welcome to my life,” she joked. 

He smiled at her comment and finished his cup of tea. Olivia expected him to leave, as he seemed done with his breakfast, but no, he served himself another. The prospect of a little more time with him was enough for her heartbeat to accelerate. The Slytherin picked some toast and eggs for her breakfast, and as she began to eat, her gaze couldn't help but fall on the person in front of her. 

Lupin did look better. The day before, he wasn't a total mess, but today, the bag under his eyes had gone away, and he looked more refreshed. He was wearing his blue cardigan, the one who looked overused in a good way : it gave a feeling of comfort and familiarity. She could tell it was soft. Lupin didn't need those expensive robes to look good. He always looked fine. But maybe Olivia wasn't objective. His hairstyle wasn't as messy as she liked, but more similar as the way they looked in class. Anyway, those brown and grey strands were still looking as soft as usual. 

Maybe Olivia had spent too much time looking at him, because she noticed a little scar on the side of his neck she was sure she hadn't seen before. The wound didn't seem new, blending among the others perfectly, so it made her doubt if she hadn't just paid attention to this one before. Lupin couldn't have gone hurt and have his scar already healed within a few days. She looked to the silver marks next to this one. Once again, only decency made her resist the urge to satisfy her curiosity by asking how he got them. There were so many, and she was sure the rest of his body was covered by them. On his neck, behind his right ear, crossing through his face, above his mouth. The silver contrasted beautifully with his pink lips. Liv wondered how it was to be kissed by those lips…

“You are staring,” Remus suddenly said.

_ Oh, crap. _

“Sorry,” she immediately blurted, looking down at her plate. 

She felt the embarrassment rushing into her cheeks. But before she could say anything to make the awkwardness go away, Lupin added :

“I don't mind.” 

Olivia looked up, only to find Remus looking at her, seriously. He was smiling, one of those smiles Liv couldn't read into. The two of them kept their eyes on each other, in silence. The Slytherin wondered what he was implying by those words, she had no idea what he was thinking about right now. 

After a few seconds of intense eye contact, Lupin suddenly grabbed his cup and stood up. He took a second to look at the wall behind Olivia, as to collect himself and come back to reality. Then, he looked back at the girl, this time with less intensity. 

“I will let you eat in peace now,” he decided with a smile.” Have a good day.”

Olivia thanked him, and walked out of the room, his cup of tea in hand, leaving behind a confused Slytherin.

  
  


In the middle of the afternoon, after spending almost two hours working with Snape in the darkness of the dungeons, Olivia was craving for sunlight. Luckily, today was a beautiful day. As she looked over a window, an idea crossed her mind. She went back to her dorm, taking off her Hogwarts robes and put on more common clothing. Then, she opened her trunk and grabbed a few sickles she put in her pocket. She smiled. A trip to Hogwarts was all she needed.

Leaving to go to the village when there was no one in Hogwarts was pretty easy when you knew how to do it. In front of her mirror, she cast an easy charm over her hair to turn it blonde. Then a transfiguration spell to make them appear shorter, without having to actually cut it. Satisfied with how different she looked, she put the hood over her hair, and left her dorm. Luck was on her side, she didn't cross paths with anyone as she left the castle. It was great not having to find a random excuse about her looks. 

As she approached Hogsmeade, she finally let her hair free, and grabbed the small mirror that was waiting in her pocket. Some makeup to look older and not be immediately recognized as a student, a pair of glasses that weren't even functional, and she was ready. She remembered the first time that her friends and she managed to sneak into Hogsmeade this way. They had drank so much to celebrate that they had to wait all night next to the village in order to be sober enough to go back to the castle. It was great. 

Like she did a few days ago, she first went into Honeydukes, and bought as many snacks she could stack into her pockets. Then, after leaving the store, she fanned over in the village until she arrived before the door of the Three Broomstick. The call of the butterbeer made her walk in. After ordering her drink, she sat at a random table next to a window. 

She looked at the people walking on the main street, appreciating how the place looked when it was not crowded with students running around. She will miss the place a lot when she will be leaving in a few months. Would her friends and her find a place somewhere to go and meet up, like muggles seem to do in their sitcoms ? Probably not, as they were not even going to be all in the same town with how things were going. A fear grew in her stomach. What if, with time and distance, they slowly fall off touch and end up strangers ? She shook her head to make the unpleasant thought go away. A movement on her right made her look away from the window, and she turned to face what she thought would be Madam Roserta bringing her drink. 

Instead, Lupin was standing next to her table, a charming smile on his lips. Olivia had to contain herself from not making any shocked face as she looked at the man. 

“Is this seat taken ?” he asked.

Olivia did not respond, frozen in her seat. The situation was terrible, and her mind was actively wondering how she was going to get away with this. Lupin took the absence of response for a yes, and sat in front of her. 

“It’s my first time seeing you here,” he said looking at her. “I’m Remus, what's your name ?”

Olivia's jaw almost dropped. He did not recognize her ! She knew her disguise was good, but she had never actually faced one of her teachers wearing it, so she had never had the chance to truly test it. The man was still fixing her, waiting for her to respond. She had to do her best not to blow her cover. 

“I’m…” She coughed a little as she tried to have a different voice. “My name is Maya.”

The man gave her a beautiful smile. 

“It’s nice to meet you Maya.”

She nodded with the most natural smile she could offer. Rosmerta arrived at this moment to put her drink in front of her. She turned to Remus, and asked him if he wanted anything. The man ordered himself a butterbeer, while Olivia awkwardly began to drink hers. As the owner of the bar walked away, Lupin brought back his focus to her.

“So tell me Maya, is it your first time in Hogsmeade ? I think I would have remembered seeing someone as beautiful as you here.” 

At those words Olivia almost choked on her butterbeer. Was Lupin trying to kill her this way ? She looked at the man, who had a charming smile plastered on his face. 

_ Is he flirting ?!  _

She didn't know what to say. In one hand, her heart was beating so fast at the compliment of the man, but in the other, the rational part of her mind reminded her that she wasn't really herself at the moment. She wanted to hear him say those things when he was truly looking at her, not some weird cover. 

Feeling jealous of yourself was a weird feeling

She went silent for a second. Hopefully, that and the inevitable blush on her face could just be interpreted as her feeling shy. Lupin was waiting, still smiling. She had very little time to think. What should she do? Just leave ? It would be weird, and he might get suspicious. She had just begun her drink. Should she tell him to go away ? Would be strange too. Should she just go with it, and try to find a way out as quick as she could ? Probably. 

“Yes, it is.” She began, still trying to keep her voice different. “What about you ?”

Liv actually felt a bit stupid asking a question she knew the answer of, but she didn't know what else to say. She just wanted to finish her drink and go. 

“I’m actually a teacher at Hogwarts,” he responded.

“Oh,” she faked surprise. “How is it ?”

“It's great,” he answered as he took a sip of his butterbeer. “Very interesting.”

“So I take it you like teaching there ?” Olivia asked.

“Oh yes, I do. The students are wonderful, it's a pleasure to teach them. They are always so eager to learn.”

“Is that so ?” The Slytherin added as she drank, looking at the smile on her professor's face. 

“It is… Even if some students just seem to be looking for trouble everywhere they go.“

Olivia looked at her drink as she put it down before pausing for a second. She blinked, before immediately meeting back the eyes of her teacher. She hesitated for a second before saying : 

“You know it's me right ?”

“Obviously,” he said, his eyes deep into hers.

Olivia sighed as she leaned back into her chair. Of course she would get caught. Remus didn't look pissed, but he wasn't smiling either. She didn't like not knowing how he felt. The man was looking at her in silence, waiting for her to speak, or to explain herself maybe ? 

“How did you know ?”

As she did, he leaned back into his chair, not surprised by her question. 

“I…” he hesitated to answer. “I recognized your perfume.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow. Perfume ? She didn't remember putting a lot of it this morning. Was he some kind of dog or something ?

“I’m… sensible to smell,” he added as if he read her mind. “Anyway, do you realize how careless you can be sometimes ? There is a reason students are not allowed into Hogsmeade without supervision.”

“I know,” Olivia recognized before he cut her off. 

“You know ?” He replied, severe. “So what would have happened if Black was around and decided to attack you ? Do you think a simple disguise like that would have saved you ?”

A silence settled between them. Lupin was waiting for his student to answer, but Olivia was hesitant, startled by the harsh tone of the man she liked. 

“I'm sorry,” She didn't know what else to say.

Lupin looked at the girl, and sighed. He didn't want to make her feel that bad. He put his hand in his hair, before saying more calmly :. 

“I just… I don't want you to be hurt you know ?” He admitted. 

Knowing he cared for her made Olivia want to smile, but the rational part of her just reminded her that he was surely like that with all his students.

“I don't understand why I keep finding you where you are not supposed to be… Are you doing this more for detention with me ?” He said jokingly as he tried to defuse the tension. 

Olivia looked in the eyes of lupin, before responding seriously :

“Maybe,” she dared. 

Lupin stayed quiet in face of this unexpected response, but his eyes twitched for a second. His grips on the handle of his drink tightened a little as he breathed deeply. Olivia felt tension rising between them, only making her wonder if she had been too bold with this one. Anyway, it was too late to regret it. 

They finished their drinks in silence, focused on each other. Once the empty glasses in front of them, they left the place together. In the cold outside wind, Olivia looked at Lupin next to her. The man seemed unsure of what to do next, but as his eyes fell on the young woman waiting next to him, he sighed. 

“Well…” He said, his voice really not in agreement with his words. ”I'm sure you know how to get back.”

Olivia didn't try to bargain, even though she really wanted to stay with him, no matter if he was angry with her or not. But she didn't want to try her luck today.

“I do.”

She gave him a little nod of the head, and left to go back to the castle. She could feel his gaze as she walked away. The slytherin could feel her own heartbeat going faster than it should. Olivia knew from the start that she shouldn't expect anything from Lupin to not get hurt, but she couldn't help it. There had been something different earlier. She saw how he looked at her a few minutes ago. With eyes that gave her hope.

  
  


* * *

The following day, as Olivia was walking to the great hall to eat lunch, she stupidly tripped in the corridor. Bad luck was on her side, as she had decided to put a skirt today. She wanted to feel pretty, maybe in case she encountered a certain someone in the castle. Yesterday had made a sparkle of hope light inside her, and she wanted to make it grow in the most ardent flame. 

But as her bare skin encountered the ground, Olivia couldn't help a grunt of pain escape her lips. She looked at her leg, and sighed when she saw blood running out of her scraped knee. Nothing serious, but still unpleasant. 

She stood up, flinching at the uncomfortable sensation. In a reflex, she went for her wand in her pocket, forgetting that she had to leave it in her dorm when she put on the skirt. She pouted. She couldn't cast a quick healing spell to make the scratch disappear. But walking in the great hall with a bloody leg was out of the question. In her bad luck, she had been lucky enough to fall close to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey would be her salvation, once again.

She walked to the infirmary, feeling the blood on her leg with every step. She opened the door quickly, and called for the lady : 

“Madam Pomfrey ?” 

She made another step into the room when a voice raised from her office, a voice she could recognize among all. 

“She already went to lunch,” Lupin said as he emerged from the room. “Is everything okay ?”

Olivia turned to face him, and the eyes of her professor immediately fell on her bloody leg. 

“By Merlin,” he exclaimed as he rushed to her side, “are you okay ?”

She gave him a little smile to reassure him. 

“Yes, it's superficial,” Liv said, “I just forgot my wand and I wanted madam Pomfrey to help me.”

“Oh,” he breathed, relieved. “You should sit down”

Remus accompanied Olivia to the first bed in the room, and grabbed his wand from his pocket. 

“If you let me, I know my fair share of healing spells.”

Olivia smiled. 

_ Of course, he does.  _

She nodded, and Lupin smiled. He lowered himself, and put his left hand just above her knee. She twitched at the direct contact with her skin, but Lupin didn't seem to notice. He silently cast a spell, and magic flew from his wand. The blood disappeared, and she felt the wound closing in a matter of seconds. 

Olivia thanked him, but Lupin didn't move. He looked in front of him, at the bare legs of his student, and took a deep breath. Silently, he put his wand back in his pocket, but his hand that was sitting above her knee stayed there. Seconds had passed, or maybe even minutes without the two of them moving or talking. Olivia's breath was short in waiting for him to do something. Anything. 

She quickly found her wish granted. His thumb moved against her thigh and Olivia's heart felt like jumping out of her chest. Lupin finally looked up at her, his eyes darker than ever before. His hand began to slowly move higher, waiting for the Slytherin to tell him to stop at any moment. She didn't. Liv wanted him to put his hand higher, and everywhere. She wanted to feel him more. She so desperately wanted him. 

Their short breaths mirrored as they looked at each other with the same lust in their eyes. Olivia opened her legs a little more, as to invite Lupin to go further. Lupin closed his eyes for a second, as to take in what was happening, and Liv worried for a second he was going to stop. But she was glad to see him looking back at her with a hunger that created an immediate reaction down her stomach. 

His hand was about to disappear under her skirt when the door suddenly opened. Remus stood up immediately, letting go of Olivia. He took a few steps back from the bed she was sitting on, the previous desire in his face now turned into guilt. He looked away from the girl, and turned to face the person that arrived. 

Olivia was still breathing heavily, looking at where he was standing a few seconds ago, wondering if his touch had been real. She broke out of trance when Madam Pomfrey came up to them. How lucky had they been that a privacy screen had prevented her from seeing what had been happening a few seconds ago.

“Lupin, is everything okay ?” The lady said to the man before noticing the girl on the bed. “Oh, miss Montgomery, I didn't see you there. Are you okay ?”

Olivia did her best to smile at the lady, hoping she could not read what had happened on her face. 

“I just tripped and needed help to heal the wound, so I came to see you. And when I realized you already went to lunch, Professor lupin proposed to help.”

She looked at the man as she said his name, but Remus was everything but looking at her. He was almost back to her, and his reaction hurted more than her previous injury. The heat in her stomach turned into a weight that just made her wish she could run away. Lupin cleared his throat before looking at the healer :

“Well, now that this is done, I should go.”

He began walking to the door when madam Pomfrey asked him :

“Are you not coming to eat ?”

“I’…” Lupin almost looked back at Olivia, but resisted. “I’m not hungry.”

He left the room without saying anything else, under the troubled eyes of the Slytherin. Madam Pomfrey simply shrugged, and mumbled about how the man was already skinny, and he should eat more. She walked to Olivia to check the wound. 

“He did a great job”, she said as she looked at her knee. “He has always been great at healing spells. He really is good at everything he does.“

Olivia didn't have the strength to fake a smile.

“He sure is.”

* * *

The dog suddenly moved his head, bringing back Olivia from her thoughts. The grey eyes were looking at her, and she smiled at him. 

“Maybe I should just let it go,'' she said again, as to convince herself.

Olivia hadn't seen Remus since yesterday in the infirmary. He hadn’t been present at any meal since, and she hadn't found the courage to go see him in his office. She still had not completely processed what had happened. If a part of her had hopes, the more rational side of her mind was telling her to shut off any expectations. Maybe Remus didn't see anything intimate about how his hand travelled her thigh ? She wasn't naive enough to believe it, but it made it easier to see it that way.

After having his back scratched a few more times, the dog decided to stand, and Olivia followed his lead. 

“Thank you for listening to me,” she smiled. “See you later buddy.”

“Buddy” had been the surname she gave the dog a few times already, and the dog seemed to respond to it, so it stayed. His tail wagged as she patted his head one last time. The dog ran in the direction of the forest as she walked back to the castle. 

Her mind was filled with everything that had happened those last few days. She didn't know what to do. The only things she really knew was how good it felt to feel him so close, and how she would trade a lot to go back to this moment. Going to sleep after what had happened yesterday had been pure hell, and she only managed to fall asleep after her own hand had travelled down her body. She had imagined everything Remus would do to her, how good he would feel and how badly she wanted him. She had been lucky to be alone in her dorm that night because it had been very hard to silence herself from meaning his name. 

She was down the hill leading to the main entrance when she looked up to the castle. Her breath became immediately short. Remus was next to the door, his eyes fixed on her. He was waiting for her. The wind messed his hair, and for the first time in a long time, Olivia found him intimidating. Did she really want to talk with him, even if what he was about to say would displease her ? 

She took a deep breath as she walked in his direction. But suddenly, a snowball hit her on the back of the head. Surprised, she turned around to discover three people standing behind her. 

“Oh my god !” She exclaimed as she walked to them.

Clara, Oliver, and Andrew smiled as she hugged them one by one. 

“What are you doing here ? You are only supposed to be back in two days !”

Clara smiled, and put her arm around Liv’s shoulder.. 

“Well, we managed to get back early for you !”

“It was a bit complicated to convince our families,“ Andrew continued,” but we couldn't let you spend any more time by yourself.”

“Did you miss us ?” Oliver finished with a gigantic smile.

She hugged them one more time as a response. They laughed at her sweet reaction, until she managed to throw a snowball in Andrew’s face. 

“Revenge !” She yelled as she prepared the second one.

Immediately, her friends did the same, and a snow fight began. After a few minutes composed of laughters and now wet clothes, they stopped to catch their breaths. The winds on their dripping robes made them longing for the warmth of a fire, so they decided to walk back to the castle. 

Olivia looked at the door where Remus was standing a few minutes ago. She wasn't surprised to see that he had left. She felt a little bad for forgetting about him, but he was in her mind all the time those past few days, so it felt good to think about something else for once. Still, she knew that she would have to face him soon. She sighed a little and Clara, who was too observant for her own good, noticed the strange look on her face.

“Is everything okay ?” She asked low enough so that the boys would not hear.

Olivia looked away from the castle, and gave her the most honest smile she could.

“Yeah. All good.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... it escalated quickly... What do you think ?   
> I hope you liked this chapter ! I couldn't upload last week so I hope this one is enough to be forgiven :)


End file.
